


TNKIT

by Schmoran



Series: The Nicest Times [2]
Category: Other - Fandom
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 19:10:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 55,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8114113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schmoran/pseuds/Schmoran
Summary: It was hard to keep up the facade of a perfect life and image. It was even harder when the reminder of the acts that you done comes back into your life, wanting you back. Or so Niall thinks and strangely hopes





	1. Show Him A Good Time

"Come on, Louis! Tell us about her!"

"Nah, I don't want to bore you with the dirty bits," he replied, smirking around his toothpick and all of the greasers laughed, scooting closer so they can hear Louis' story about some girl that he met. Harry really wasn't paying that much attention to be honest, the 18-year old leader of their little greaser pack sticking a cigarette in between his lips and digging for a match in his jean pocket. His green eyes kept flickering back and forth to the group of boys sitting on the steps below him to the people that walked down the sidewalk and turned their noses at the likes of him and his friends. All of them dressed so poised and elegant and all heading down to the RCT-Studio.

None of them the person that he wanted to see.

His ears tuned into Louis' conversation, hearing how 'Leah' had been begging for more and more of Louis and all of the boys were slapping on Louis' arms and cheering and making little cat call whistles at the girls walking down the street. Harry rolled his eyes, he was honestly done with all of that nagging and teasing of the kids that worked down at the studio. It was fun three years ago, but now it was boring and tedious. Or maybe, it was fun three years ago because he had Niall to tease. But Harry and him were over. They were over before they ever even started and he hasn't seen the boy outside of the television since.

"Hey! Check out the newbie!" one of Harry's friends shouted out and Harry glanced over, seeing a boy walking down the sidewalk and clutching the beige bag close to his chest. He supposed that this boy was the one that everyone focused their teasing on, he didn't look like he was bothered by it and some of the boys said it was because he probably didn't understand them. So they called him all kinds of names without fear of the boy knowing what he was being called and Harry did nothing about it, just sat on the stone steps and smoked his cigarette. Louis raised an eyebrow and Harry remembered that he probably never seen the boy before, so Louis leaned forward to get a good look.

The boy walked past the steps and looked over at the greasers, eyes widening and he stopped in his place and Harry saw Louis trying to shrink back behind the broad shoulders of the two boys in front of him. The boy stepped over, he actually approached them, eyes still wide and lips curving up into a cute smile.

"Louis?" the boy asked, the group surprised that he would even speak to Louis. And Louis resurfaced, trying to give off an intimidating stare.

"Yeah? What do you want?" Louis snapped and the boy cocked his head to the side.

"Don't you remember me? Liam? We spent a day at the lake together... and we... "

"Hold it, hold it, hold it," Zayn blurted out, looking between the two boys and Louis began to turn red as the raven haired boy began to smile wide, "You telling me that this is 'Leah'? She doesn't even have tits!"

"It's a boy, moron," Harry mumbled around his cigarette and Zayn was too amused to be phased by the petty insult as he got up from his spot on the step onto his feet and pointed at Liam.

"You're Leah? You're the one that kept on begging on your knees for Louis and sucked him off like ten times?" Zayn asked and Liam blushed red, staring at Louis with incredulous eyes and lower lip quivering. Louis got up and pushed Zayn out of the way, rushing up to the new boy with hands held out.

"Liam, look-"

Liam didn't respond, he took the small silver ring that was on his finger and threw it at the boy, running off down the street and sobbing loudly. Louis stood, raising his hand to grip through his hair and Harry pushed past his friends as well. Him and Louis always were the closest of the bunch. They knew each other longer, they had their first cigarette together, they even had a time where they laid out all of the Playboy magazines and pictures of Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe and masturbated to the images of the beautiful women together when they were dirty young boys. But now, they considered themselves dirty young men and Harry was always going to be Louis' close friend. He slapped a hand on the boy's shoulder and Louis glanced over at the boy.

"Why didn't you just tell us it was a boy you were seeing?" Harry asked, taking the cigarette and stomping it into the cement and Louis shrugged his hand off of his shoulder.

"Not everyone is comfortable with being a fag like you," Louis muttered and Harry's eyes widened, face growing red hot with anger. Harry only told Louis about his sexual preferences, Louis was the only soul that knew Harry preferred both the girls and the boys. Not even the guys that were sitting on the steps and watching the two boys glare at each other, the two boys that were supposedly friends. Harry twisted his mouth and his fingers curled and uncurled.

"And what the fuck does that mean?" Harry asked, shoving Louis roughly and the boy stumbled back a little. Louis' nostrils flared and he shoved Harry back just as hard.

"It means I didn't want to see him! I don't get attached to boys. Unlike someone I know!" Louis shouted and Harry's eyes widened. Louis swore that he wasn't going to talk about Niall ever again. He swore he wouldn't bring the other boy up and now Harry was furious and he lunged at Louis, tackling him to the ground and trying to land a fist on the boy's turning red face. Harry felt hands trying to yank him off of Louis but no, he was determined to hurt Louis physically. He was determined to make the boy feel sorry that he ever brought up Niall again.

He was going to make Louis sorry that he ever brought back that memory of Niall leaving him. Of Niall being embarrassed of who Harry was and not wanting to have anything to do with him. Of not walking down this street for three years and seeing all of the girls grab and fawn over him whenever the show came on TV and Niall looking like he was having the time of his life without caring about Harry. Niall didn't care about Harry at all. He didn't care if Harry really did like Niall.

He didn't care if Harry really did love him.

The boys finally managed to pull Harry off of him, some of them holding Louis down so he wouldn't try to attack Harry and Harry fought them off of him, stumbling back a little bit and staring hatefully at Louis. Harry turned and began to run, leaving behind the calling shouts of the boys telling him to come back, trying to scrunch his eyes as hard as he could to keep some tears from falling out. He wasn't a fag, he wasn't a nancy or any other gay slang that the greasers called the snobbish boys that walked down the streets in their corduroys and khakis. He was Harry Styles and he loved everything that was beautiful, man or woman. But maybe... maybe that was why Niall turned him away. Because Harry wasn't a pretty girl with slim legs and long hair with curves in all the right places. Harry was tall and every girl's dream, not a boy's. He would never be what Niall wanted, one of those bubble-blowing girls that giggled and laughed and spread their legs for anyone with a cute face. He was Harry, the smoking 18-year old greaser with a bastard of a ex-best friend and no one that he could see and give a quick kiss to. His feet began to drag and he stopped running, now sulking down the pavement and shoving his hands in his pockets. Might as well go home and hear the nagging of his mother. At least he'd be doing something productive by ignoring her.

The walk to Harry's home was always a slightly amusing one, though Harry was considered the filth of society, his parents were considered very high and successful people to look up to and be admired and be invited over to the housewives' home to serve all the little finger foods and gossip. But Harry had to be different, Harry had to be the rebel of the family. Every time his mother would look over at him, he knew she was thinking where did she go wrong. Harry had an older sister that was in a well-paying job and has her own gentalmanly husband for herself, Harry was lazy and only did things that would be satisfiable and nothing more than that. He figured that if his mother found out that he was screwing girls (sometimes unprotected), she'd probably have a heart attack.

Harry knew if she found out that he also fooled around with boys, she'd kill herself.

Just so she wouldn't be able to hear the snide remarks from the other housewives on the street they lived on.

Harry stepped into the comfortable abode, kicking his sneakers off and the sock-clad feet sliding along the hardwood floor. At the sound of the door opening, Harry's mother came walking in, dressed in her light blue dress usually only reserved for dinner party guests or wealthy business men that his father brought home with him to discuss work. She walked over to her son, placing a kiss on his sweating cheek and pulled away, most likely still smelling the lingering scent of tobacco on his breath and frowned.

"I want you to get cleaned up today, we're having guests," the woman said softly and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Can I just leave before they come?"

"They have a son," Mrs. Styles offered and Harry rolled his eyes. Yeah, a son. A goody-goody boy that's all 'Neato' and 'Swell' and probably never even smelled cigarette smoke before or had a girl in their lap. It was going to be a drag, he'd rather have Louis knocking him senseless than to be in the house with them. His mother took him by the shoulders and continued to frown. "Please, sweetie. I'm sure that it will be fun. His mother says he's really popular."

Great, instead of a nerd, he was getting some meathead jock. Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged out of his mother's grasp. "Harry, I'm going to ask you this one-"

"Alright, alright, I'm going. Don't have a cow," Harry grumbled, walking off down the hall and leaving his mother to shake her head and wonder just where did she go wrong.

Harry shed his clothes, walking around his dirty room in the nude and grabbing a towel to head to the bathroom to take a bath. He let the hot water run and almost fill it to the point of overflowing, then stuck his foot in and then slipped inside to submerge himself under the hot water. He resurfaced, his hair hanging down in his face and he grabbed some shampoo to scrub at his head and soap to wipe and clean his arms, his stomach, his legs and in between. Even though he was a greaser, the supposedly dirt and grease monkeys that prided themselves on how much grunge was layered on their skin and manly smells, Harry loved to take baths. He loved the water that splashed over his body and almost felt like it was cleansing him of all the filth that came from the cigarette ash, the sweat of the street fights, the various scents of sex, everything was cleansed off of his body and he felt almost like he was a virgin again. But he wasn't. And he won't be ever again.

Harry climbed out of the tub, draining the water and grabbing a towel to dry himself and his hair. He walked over to the mirror, green eyes watching the stray drops of water that trickled from his neck down the tanned muscle and down his thigh to fall into the bath rug and picked up the black comb lying on the counter, the sound of different voices other than his parents entering his ears and signaling the arrival of the guests. Screw the dinner, he was going out. He could pick up a girl at the drive-in, that was where all the girls that were desperate for dates hung out at and waited for a boy to come driving along and ask for a little back seat bingo. Harry styled his hair back and slick, smirking at his reflection before walking out to his bedroom to get his clothes.

Only to find that Niall was standing in his room, big blue eyes widening at Harry's nude figure.

Niall turned away and Harry felt his heart stop, quickly rushing over to his bed to yank up the blue bedsheets and cover himself from the waist down. Niall was blushing wild, not even making eye contact and Harry's mouth was gaping open like a fish. He was the son? Harry felt his face growing red as he watched the pale boy still blushing and eyes fluttering in nerves, and all of the memories came flowing back to Harry. How Harry kissed Niall and his tongue swirled in that delicious mouth. How Harry felt the way the boy shuddered under his touch. How Harry felt Niall clench around him so tight as they had sex in that filth of an alleyway and hearing Niall moan out his name like he was Niall's god.

And Harry felt his cock beginning to ache and throb.

"I-I-Your mother said you would be here but... I-I'll just go now," Niall stuttered out, quickly running out of the room before Harry could say anything. The brunette boy blinked before groaning and tossing the blanket onto the bed and flinging himself on it, hand wrapping around his erection as he made impact with the cushion. He closed his eyes and licked his lips, bucking up into the hand and letting a moan escape his lips.

Harry never fantasized about Niall, usually thinking about the boy would make him feel upset about himself or angry that the boy left him because the thought of being with another boy just wasn't what an All-American Boy should do. But now, seeing Niall's face and seeing those gorgeous eyes flutter and hearing the little squeak of embarrassment Niall gave when he saw Harry made the boy squeeze his length in pleasure. Niall was so innocent and Harry felt a little guilty for imagining the boy in such compromising positions. Imagining that the boy was nude, lying in a bed with perk bottom in the air and waiting for Harry to take him and pound into him next week while arching his cream skinned back and screaming out Harry's name over and over again.

And Niall would look over his shoulder at Harry, cheeks flushed red and pretty mouth parted and letting out gasps and whisper out 'Harder, Harry~ Fuck me, Harry~'. Just the very image of that made Harry grunt and moan and felt his dick spasm as his hand was covered with his seed. Harry stroked himself a couple more times, feeling the semen slide between his fingers and palm beginning to grow sticky with the fluid and he licked his lips, giving one more little moan of pleasure.

Then his door swung open and he quickly covered himself back up with his sheets.

Mrs. Styles stood in the doorway, hands on her hips and staring at her son with a frown to which Harry mirrored.

"Jeez, ma. Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Harry said with a roll of the eyes and his mother's face grew livid.

"Harry, I told you to get ready!"

"And I am! Just close the door and let me get changed!" Harry snapped back and his mother twisted her lips a bit before placing a hand on the door handle.

"And I want you dressed nice. None of those clothes that you usually wear," Mrs. Styles thew in before gently closing the door back and Harry rolled his eyes, taking the sheets and wiping his hand and his softening length with it while smirking. This will be heading straight into the laundry for her to wash. Harry swung his legs out of bed, walking over to the closet to grab out some slacks and a button up shirt. He fished around in his drawer for some underwear, pulling the shorts out and slipping them on followed by the pants and putting on the shirt. He pulled out a beige jacket, slipping it on and not bothering with a tie. He was going to talk to some stuck up parents, not see the President. Then again, Harry wouldn't wear a tie for him either.

When he came into the living room, his parents were laughing at some story the Horans were telling, Niall just smiling at his father and then eyes growing scared once he saw Harry enter. Mr. Styles grinned, getting up from his chair to walk over and slap a hand on Harry's back.

"Maura, Bobby, I'd like you to meet my son. Harry, this is Mr. and Mrs. Horan," his father introduced, guiding his son over to the two that smiled bright at him.

"How do you do?" Mrs. Horan asked, holding her hand out to be shook but Harry raised it up to his lips and kissed it. The woman blushed and giggled slightly, "What a charmer you two have!"

Mr. Horan raised an eyebrow slightly but Harry walked over and strongly shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you, sir. You're real lucky to have a wife like her and as successful as you are," Harry said lightly and the smile went right back on the man's face. Harry figured that the only reason his mother didn't just disown him yet was because Harry was a hell of a liar. He can sure fake being the perfect son that his mother always wanted, and the Horans were eating it up. Only one that wasn't fooled was Niall.

He shouldn't be. He knew Harry better than his own parents.

Mr. Horan turned to Niall, smile still on his face. "Hey sport, why don't you go out with Harry for a bit?"

Niall blushed and Harry couldn't help the little smile coming to his lips, already feeling another twinge in his pants.

"N-No, dad. I think it's better if-"

"Nonsense, you don't want to hear grown-folk talking about business. Harry, can you show my boy a good time?"

"Of course I can, sir," Harry said. Yes, he can show Niall a real good time. Niall couldn't protest, Harry already walked over to him and placed a hand on his back to lead him out of the room and away from the protection of his parents. Niall was trembling and Harry smiled a bit, leading them to his room and the stale scent of lust still lingered in the air as they walked inside and Harry closed the door.

"Harry, whatever you're doing, I don't want it," Niall quickly said and Harry leaned against the door.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Harry asked, eyes holding both want and hate. He wanted Niall, he wanted the boy's body in his arms, he wanted the boy's mouth to kiss. But he hated Niall at the same time, he hated Niall for leaving him and trying to shut Harry out of his life for good. Niall rocked back and forth on his dress shoes, looking at the ground in nerves.

"Trying to seduce me. I'm not... I'm not a homosexual," Niall muttered and Harry frowned.

"Really? Because I remember you kissing me. I remember you getting hard for me. I think you're just trying to tell yourself that you're not gay. Because you're afraid of what everyone else will think of you," Harry said darkly.

"It's not natural!"

"Who says?"

"E-Everyone!"

"Well I'm not everyone!" Harry hissed and Niall looked taken aback. He bit his lip and Harry walked over, taking Niall's hand and pressing it against his prominent bulge. Niall gasped, trying to yank his hand away but Harry held his wrist tight. "Do you feel it? Niall, I only think about you. I want you back, Niall," Harry said and leaned in close to his ear, "I want you, Nialler."

Niall shuddered a breath and Harry gently tilted Niall's head to lay a soft kiss on his lips. Niall pulled away, rubbing his mouth with his sleeve and blushing hard. Harry frowned and took Niall to kiss him again. Niall pulled away and wiped his mouth. Another kiss, another wipe. Harry grabbed onto Niall's wrist, pushing the boy roughly down on the bed and Niall squeaked.

"Harry! No! I-I'll scream! I'll scream and then your parents will find out!" Niall threatened weakly and Harry laughed.

"You're not going to do it."

"... What makes you think that?"

Harry let a hand slide down Niall's body, palming a bulge in the front of Niall's pants and Niall's eyes widened, moaning as Harry squeezed his length hard.

"This is why," Harry huskily whispered and Niall blushed.  
______________________________________________________________________________

"Oh, he seems like such a doll," Mrs. Horan complemented the Styles and the adults smiled, "Niall is so shy most of the time, but it looks like they hit it off!"

"Niall is a nice boy as well," Mr. Styles replied and the Horans nodded.

"He wants to be a doctor, you know. Go to school and study to be a doctor and marry and have children of his own. He has a big future ahead of him," Mrs. Horan said with a pleasing smile.  
______________________________________________________________________________

Niall moaned, eyes fluttering as he felt Harry's tongue drag along the length of his dick, bringing the tip into his warm mouth and tongue swirling along the tip. Harry's head bobbed, one hand on Niall's bare thigh and groping at the soft flesh that was growing pink and the other slowly scissoring and fingering the writhing boy on his bed trying to keep quiet. Harry was moaning around Niall's erection, his fingers pumping in and out into the warm heat and felt Niall clenching tight around his fingers with each and every thrust. It made Harry wish that it was his own dick that was thrusting in the boy instead of his fingers, but he knew Niall wouldn't let him. He was surprised that he was even doing this to the 'perfect' boy, pants around his ankles and sucking him off while both of their parents were down the hall and could walk in on them any second.

Which strangely, made Harry more aroused at the thrill of it all.

Niall's mouth was dry and his head lolled to the side, breathing and panting into Harry's pillow that was starting to grow damp with sweat as the boy sucked harder and the fingers inside him curled at such an angle that made Niall moan quietly and try to muffle his voice in the pillow. Harry smiled, going as deep down as he could and sucked harshly, Niall's voice going slightly up in volume. His fingers clutched and gripped tight onto the bare mattress, Niall struggling to keep from moaning out loud. But Harry wanted to hear Niall's voice. He wanted those three words to come from the boy's lips.

'I love you'.

Or 'fuck me, Harry'.

Harry was really fine with either of them.

Niall clenched tight around his fingers, the boy's fingers almost tore through the mattress' fabric and his back arched as Harry felt the boy release himself inside his mouth, the hot substance filling Harry's mouth and going down his throat with ease. A weak whine escaped Niall's lips and his cheeks never looked so red as Harry slowly pulled off the softening cock and removing his fingers from the puckered hole. Niall gasped for a few seconds, blue eyes large and blown and Harry slid back on Niall's underwear and pants, zipping and buttoning the fabric. Harry then leaned over, most likely pressing his own aching erection against Niall's thigh and kissed Niall's lips, the taste of semen still on Harry's tongue as it licked along the dry lips.

And Niall shoved him away and onto the ground.

Harry stared up at the boy, eyes wide and confused as Niall looked around the room panicked. No one heard them, no one knew what they were really doing, why was he acting so strange? Maybe because he was still denying the things that he and Harry did? Denying that Harry really does feel something for him and he feels the exact same way? Harry just stared at Niall, seeing him get off the bed as if it was on fire and rush out the room. He bit his lip and felt his heart ready to jump out of his chest. He wouldn't dare tell his parents what they did. He wouldn't dare, he would look just as bad for letting Harry do it to him, right? Harry's thoughts were jumbled in both the idea that Niall would reveal their sexual activities and the idea that Niall left him again. He sat in his room, not coming out and still hearing the laughter and chatter of his parents and the Horans, the sound slowly dying down as time passed and the day turned into night. He just sat there and thought.

What else was there to do? He had no one by his side, friend or lover.


	2. Paper Shakers

The lips moved and attacked the boy roughly and harshly, Louis holding Liam's head and fingers threading through the tufts of brown hair as he pressed the taller boy further into the dirty, brick wall. Harry didn't say anything, the two boys not noticing Harry had walked down the alley that was a couple of blocks away from the usual hangout. He just watched the two of them, Louis' hips moving and shamelessly grinding against Liam's, the taller boy beginning to moan slightly and Louis shoving his tongue farther down Liam's throat and the lips sucked almost angrily, almost like Louis was trying to literally force down all of his frustrations and his confusions about himself down the boy's throat.

Harry raised his fist, swinging it against the dumpster he was near and the sound filling the cramped area of the alleyway, making the two boys jump away and look at the cause of the sound in fear. Louis slightly relaxed when he saw that it was only Harry, but his blue eyes still held a fury and he gritted his teeth. Harry raised an eyebrow, sticking his hands in his pockets and sauntering over to the two that were blushing furiously.

"So you're fine with being a fag as long as no one else sees it?" Harry asked, each word dripping with venom and Louis growled.

"Shut up. I'm not a fag and I'm not scared of you," Louis said darkly and Harry's eyes flickered over to Liam, seeing the boy was squirming slightly in his spot. Harry twisted his mouth, looking between the two and stepping closer to the shorter boy.

"So tell me, Louis. Are you afraid? Or ashamed?"

"What am I afraid of? I'm not afraid of you if that's what you're thinking," Louis snapped and Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't get it, Louis was too dense and hot-headed to understand what Harry was getting at. But Liam did. The boy's lip quivered a bit and he walked over to Louis, gently taking the boy's hand.

"Are you... are you embarrassed about me?... About us? I-If it's about me not being a greaser, I can change. I'll get the clothes and I'll start smoking and-"

"No, don't do that. I like your mouth tasting like chocolate, not like an ashtray," Louis mumbled and Liam blushed as he felt Louis throw an arm around him. The boy looked up at Harry and bit his lip, his eyes beginning to grow softer as he looked at his once friend. "... I'm not a-"

"I know that. Louis, are you afraid of what you're feeling? Or embarrassed?"

"Look, I don't need you treating me like some special case when you're fucking boys yourself. Just... just keep your mouth shut, okay?" Louis said, pinching the bridge of his nose and Harry watched him silently. Fine then, Harry couldn't force Louis to come to realization or acceptance of his sexuality. If he could, he would have done it to Niall. He sighed and nodded, Louis letting out a small breath and kissing Liam's jaw.

"Come on, I'll walk you to school," Louis muttered into the boy's brown hair and Harry smiled lightly.

"I'm coming with you. I'd rather know your little boyfriend more than hang around those screwballs we call our friends," Harry replied and Louis blushed as the three of them walked out of the alley and head down the street in the opposite direction of the bar.

"He's not my boyfriend," Louis said defensively and Harry saw the little shimmer of hurt flicker across the other boys face.

"Your fuck buddy?" Harry asked and both of the boys blushed impossibly red. Liam hooked an arm around Louis' and snuggled deep into the black leather.

"We're new lovers," Liam said dreamily, his feet trying to keep in sync with the worn out and dirty sneakers of Louis' and Harry rolled his eyes. The boy probably wasn't much older than 14 or 15, the stage of life where every time that you saw the person that you were in love with, you felt 'butterflies' in your chest. Harry didn't feel the little tingles of young love in his chest anymore, he just felt the strong throbs of lust in his pants. He'd outgrown that little fairy tale love, his mind is now in the normal love and lust game. He gets girls more easily than he gets the boys, Harry supposing that the idea of the sweet girl wanting to drop her panties for the tough, bad boy greaser was more easy to accept than the idea of the prim and proper boy wanting to bend over for him.

But that's not saying that he wasn't able to get a couple of innocent and sometimes randy boys to get into the back of his car and let them bounce in his lap.

The trio passed by the television store, the TV sets out on display and all showing different channels and stations for the people to stand and wish they owned one for themselves. Liam turned to look over at the sets and his eyes widened, stopping and grabbing onto Louis' hand.

"Look! Look!" Liam chirped as if he was standing in front of a pet store and pointing at the cutest little puppy in the window instead of an overly priced television set showing a couple of singing and dancing teenagers in the clear black and white. Harry stared at the commercial, lips curling and then beginning to search for the cigarette pack in his pocket, yanking the box out and putting the stick of tobacco in his mouth and striking a match. He hated that show. He hated that show with such a passion.

Because that was the show that Niall was on. 'The Syco Record Rollers'.

What a stupid name for a show.

He saw Louis standing alongside Liam, looking at the show with an eyebrow raised and Liam was smiling at it hopefully. Harry took one puff of his cigarette, then two, then a long drag until the only thing that he could breathe was smoke and some of it slipping from his thin lips as he exhaled. Then he took another long drag when he saw Niall's face pop up, singing and smiling a pearly white smile. In the past 3 years, Niall was promoted from a bassist that was barely seen to one of the main male singers. Probably because Niall started to look more like a handsome, intelligent young man than the squirmy little nerd of a boy he was 3 years ago.

Either way, Harry still wanted to have the boy in his arms instead of the many arms of the girls on the show.

Liam turned to Louis, eager smile still on his face as he tapped the clear glass window.

"I want to be on that show someday," he said dreamily and Louis' mouth twisted slightly, possibly trying to keep himself from laughing out at the boy's dream. Harry just rolled his eyes and puffed on the cigarette until there was a clear cloud of smoke that encased the three boys.

"Harry, cut it out," Louis snapped at him and Harry took the cigarette out of his mouth, letting it dangle between his fingers. Louis waved off the cloud of smoke, glaring at the teen before turning back to the TV set, feeling Liam tugging on his hand urgently. Niall was standing near a microphone, the rest of the cast surrounding him and smiling brightly at the camera. It made Harry sick, absolutely sick. Why were they even watching this garbage? Why did Harry watch this garbage when it normally aired and he sat in front of the TV at his home looking at it? Perhaps because in someway, somehow, it felt Niall was still talking to him. And smiling that smile at him through the television and singing to him.

Harry shuddered, he was acting like a girl.

"Think you got what it takes to be a Syco Record Roller yourself? Come on down to the RCT-Studio this Saturday to audition. Only have ten spots available, boys and girls that can dance and sing wanted. See you there," Niall's message from the TV entered through the three boy's ears and the cast flashed off their perfect smiles. Liam turned to Louis, eyes wide and smiling brightly.

"Did you hear that? I can audition! I can dance! And sing too!" Liam said happily and Louis just nodded, gently easing the boy down the sidewalk to keep moving. Harry lingered by, the fingers that held the cigarette moving up and flicking the butt at the window and hitting the fake smiles directly. Harry smiled himself, seeing that Niall flinched slightly. Good, he hoped that Niall could feel that Harry was angry at him and what he done to his ego. And with that, Harry rushed over to catch up with the other two.

They arrived at Liam's school, not really that extravagant like the school they often ditched (hell, Louis and Harry were supposed to be in History now) and Liam looked over at Louis, smiling shyly as he walked over to lean up and give Louis a kiss on the cheek. Louis pushed the boy away, giving Liam a more heterosexual slap on the back and Liam just gave a sad smile, waving at the two boys before rushing up the stairs and through the doors. Harry didn't say anything, he waited until they were a couple of blocks from the school, cigarette already in his mouth and beginning to burn when he pulled it out and blew a stream of smoke.

"You shouldn't be fucking with him like that," Harry muttered.

"I'm not fucking with anybody," Louis snapped and Harry held out his cigarette. The boy took it and placed it in his mouth, giving a slow drag and opening his mouth to blow smoke rings. Harry rolled his eyes.

"He's just a baby. And he doesn't need you questioning or making him feel like crap because he likes you."

"When have I done that?"

"Right now. Louis, you pushed him away when he was going to kiss you, you didn't say what your relationship was with him... you lied and said he was a girl-"

"And I said I was sorry! Shit, Harry, what are you, 'Dear Abby'? Instead of sticking your pretty little nose in my business, why don't you go fuck with Niall or something!" Louis snapped again and flicked the half smoked cigarette in the gutter. Harry growled, grabbing Louis by the collar and slamming him against the wall. Louis struggled, spitting and hissing at Harry as the stronger of the two slammed him again.

"Listen, I'm trying to be a friend here and I'm trying to help you understand-"

"I get it already! I like him, okay! Happy!"

"... Well who are you, Louis?"

"The fuck is this, you writing a book?"

"Just shut up for two minutes. Do you like boys? Are you gay?"

"I'm not a fag."

"Will you shut up and let me talk? Just answer the question."

"... I just like him... I don't think girls are gross or anything... it's just him," Louis muttered and Harry nodded, removing his hands from Louis' shoulders. The boy just sighed, running a hand through his matted hair and looked at the ground in slight embarrassment that Harry scoffed at. He knew how stubborn Louis could be, just admitting that he liked Liam to Harry was already a big enough step. He wasn't going to pry on the subject anymore. Harry threw an arm around Louis and smiled lightly.

"Congrats, acceptance is the first step," Harry replied, the two of them beginning to walk down the street and Louis blushed.

"I told you I'm-"

"I know, I know. Just shut up and enjoy the walk," Harry cut Louis' protest and nudged him a bit, smiling to himself as the smaller boy smirked back.

It was good to have someone by his side again.  
______________________________________________________________________________

"Hey! Paper shakers!" Zayn shouted from the Ford Thunderbird, bouncing the car slightly and trying to get the cheerleaders to look over at him and his group of friends while the drive-in screen was playing a news reel. The blondes finally turned after some of the guys started to whistle and shout, staring at the greasers with unamused faces. Zayn grinned, "Show us your tits!"

The girls gasped, turning their heads and stomping off to the little snack bar that was adorned with neon lights and teens throwing food at each other right after paying for it. Harry rolled his eyes.

"And there's a couple of girls that won't be sleeping with you anytime soon. And get your feet off the hood, what are you, a monkey?" Harry snapped, shoving the boy onto the dirt and Zayn frowned.

"Oh shut up, you probably had worse than feet on here anyways, Mr. Cherry Popper," Zayn said, sticking his tongue out and Harry scoffed, leaning against the cherry red door.

"Yeah. And the car's clean and I want it to stay that way," Harry then gave a wink, "Don't want the girls complaining that some mud is in their hair when I'm taking her for a wild night."

"What about me? You're my ride for the night."

"Dave has a car."

"It smells!"

"Then I guess you're walking," Harry replied and Zayn was ready to say something when he heard the other guys call out from the yellow Chevy beside them.

"Hey look! It's Nerdy! And he's with the whore!" one of the boys shouted and Harry bit his lip, half of him really not wanting to look in the direction of where the guys were pointing and the other half of him curious and wanting to see if his suspicions were correct.

They were.

Niall was leaning on the back of an old Pontiac Chiefton (Harry had to admit, Niall had good taste in cars) and the brunette girl was leaning beside him, giggling and smiling a coral pink smile that even Harry could see from the other side of the drive-in lot. Niall didn't seem to notice the greasers that were trying to get him to look over their way, that or he was purposely ignoring them and Harry felt his face beginning to grow a little flushed. Louis wasn't there to tell the guys to shut up, he was at home with the mom and little sisters. Or maybe he was in an alley and going to claim the virgin innocence of Liam like Harry claimed Niall's when they were 15. Harry really didn't know what Louis was doing right now, but he sure wished he were here.

Cause he needed someone to stop him walking over to the couple right now.

Harry paused halfway through the lot, hearing the shouts of his friends beginning to die down and possibly watching him for what he was going to do. He really didn't know what to do, honestly what? Niall was going to pretend he didn't know him, Niall was going to try and avoid him. The boy might just jump inside the car with his little giggling girl on his arm and drive off to leave Harry cursing and kicking up dirt and possibly grabbing two girls to screw in the backseat of his car in rage. He just stood there, Niall not looking away from Barbara in the slightest.

A couple of girls walked by him, looking at him with interest and made a little giggle as he whirled around to give them a glare. But out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Niall shifted his head a bit. He wasn't looking directly at Harry, but the boy for sure would be in his peripheral vision. So Harry grabbed onto the first girl that was closest to him, a redhead with curls in a ponytail and a light green dress to match her suddenly startled brown eyes, dipped her low and slammed his lips onto hers. She didn't know what was going on and her lips were soft and tasted of melon gloss. Harry did like kissing girls, mostly because it felt like he was sampling from a long table of foods. Melon, chocolate, apples, bubblegum, lemonade with a hint of mint and the lips always plush and plump.

But Harry loved to kiss a boy, particularly because there was no taste but a spark. The lips were mostly dried and chapped, sometimes Harry could taste blood on a lip that was split. But the taste really lied in their mouths, the mouths that Harry got easier access to than a girl and tasted like mints and cinnamon twists and other sweet tastes that they thought a girl's tongue would be perusing instead of his. Plus, kissing a boy sent shocks up his spine, the shocks that what they were doing would make anyone faint or scream out of shock. And Harry loved it, he loved the thrill of kissing a boy that he just couldn't get with kissing a girl.

And Harry licked across the girl's lips, feeling her raise her hand to go and grasp his hair roughly and also hearing the coos and gasps of the girls that were standing behind him. He let an eye flicker open, the girl's eyes dreamily closed and not fluttering, and peeked over at Niall and Barbara. He smirked into the kiss when he saw Niall staring dead at him, seeing how he was kissing the girl and the girl groping at his hair and leather clad arm. Niall's eyes looked hurt and confused but mostly embarrassed and angry, his cheeks blushing hard. Barbara was watching with eyebrow raised and cheeks slightly blushing at the act.

But Harry saw how both of their tongues darted out to lick their own lips.

And Harry was only willing to satisfy one person's desire.

Niall got up from his seat on the car, rushing over with hands stuck deep in his pockets and leaving Barbara to roll her eyes and get in the car herself to wait. Harry hummed, giving one last press against the girl's lips and raising her back up to her feet, the girl swaying slightly and blushing hard. Harry stuck his hands in his pockets, turning on his heel and heading back towards his own car.

"W-Wait! Don't you want to talk?" he heard the girl call out and he rolled his eyes, looking over his shoulder.

"That depends. By talk, do you mean 'have sex'? If so, then yeah," Harry said and the girls gasped, grabbing onto the redhead and pulling her away, chattering about 'guys like him ain't worth your time' and 'your daddy would probably kill you if he finds out'.

Didn't stop the redhead from showing up halfway through the movie and asking for a seat in Harry's car.

Harry didn't pay attention to the movie, focusing now on the soft flesh and sweet smelling scent of the girl's shoulder as she moved closer in his lap, chest poking out as the top of the dress slipped off of her and she let out a soft sigh. He didn't pay attention when he heard the guys making cat calls and whistles at the two of them, trying to sneak a peak through the fogging windows of the car. He didn't pay any attention to what looked like a Pontiac driving past his car, stopping and seeing a window roll down before rolling back up and speeding away. He wasn't even paying attention to the girl anymore, the girl that was nude in his lap and kissing his neck and felt so warm around him with each slow thrust and tiny whimpers of puppy love that would be crushed later on in the night.

He was only thinking about the Saturday auditions. Where Liam would try out and Niall would be there to watch.

Wouldn't hurt to be there himself.

For support.


	3. Some Boyfriend

"That was horrible! Completely bad! Why did you even bother to come down here when you have no talent! GET OUT OF MY STUDIO!"

Louis and Liam could hear the screams without even setting foot inside the studio doors and minutes afterwards, a sobbing teenage girl came out of the doors and proceeded to run down the street. Liam turned to Louis, straightening his coat and plaid tie in slight nerves and Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?" the boy asked and Liam shook his head, taking in a slow breath.

"N-No, I'm fine... just a little nervous... my suit is fine, right? I'm not too overdressed, am I?" Liam began to question, pulling on the cuffs of his sleeves and Louis shook his own head, giving a soft pat on Liam' back.

"You look great. And you're going to do great," Louis replied and Liam smiled shyly. Louis always liked it when Liam smiled, pretty white teeth that could rival any spokesman for toothpaste or mouthwash and mouth just as minty fresh and so tasty to kiss. Liam stepped closer to the greaser, fingers gently taking the edges of Louis' leather collar jacket, leaning up to give Louis a small and innocent kiss. Louis pushed the boy away as soon as the soft lips touched his dried ones, looking around for anyone that could have possibly seen the two boys and Liam looked down.

"Why do you always do this?" the boy quietly asked and Louis looked over at him, frown coming over his face and Liam took a shaky breath, "You never want to kiss me or hug me."

"I kiss you and hug you," Louis snapped and Liam frowned.

"Yeah, in dark alleys and behind dumpsters where no one can see us. Never when we're at the park or at the drive-in, you don't even want to hold hands with me," Liam said and hung his head, "Do you even like me, Louis?"

"Don't ask something stupid like that," Louis mumbled and Liam shuddered.

"... If... if you don't want to show public affection because... we haven't had sex... I-I'll do it. I would give myself to you, Louis," Liam stuttered out and Louis' eyes widened. The thought of having sex with Liam, holding the boy's nude body and feeling the soft skin beneath his fingertips, hearing Liam gasp and moan out Louis's name as he felt him softly thrusting up inside was a wet fantasy that invaded Louis' dreams every night since he met the boy. And the dreams would always end with Louis' pajama pants and underwear tossed off onto the floor and cock covered in his semen from stroking and masturbating to the images that floated in his head. Oh yes, he would very much love to have sex with the boy standing in front of him.

But Louis was afraid.

Louis was afraid that as soon as he had Liam in a bed, as soon as they were nude and Louis was easing himself inside of Liam, that that would be it. Louis would be gay, no doubt. It wouldn't be like what he was doing with Liam now, kissing and the occasional blowjob that Liam would give Louis to be in favor with him. No, he would have to face the fact that he liked boys. He liked Liam and he didn't want another person in his bed other than him. Louis wasn't sure how Harry could be able to do this, screwing boys and girls left and right without a care in the world. No, Louis did care about what the people were going to think about him and he was terrified of being ridiculed. A greaser liking a boy instead of the curvy and slutty girls that he was supposed to be picking up. What a joke he was, he wasn't a man. He was gay and he was going to become the laughing stock of the entire world.

All because of the boy that was in front of him and was asking for Louis to just let all of his fears go to love him.

But he couldn't.

"... We don't need to have sex... let's get in there before you miss your audition," Louis muttered, opening the doors and nudging Liam inside. They walked down the hall and followed the arrows directing them to the sound stage where the show was filmed live. And as the two of them peeked through the door windows, seeing the entire cast sitting in chairs and watching a current audition in progress with bored expressions, Liam began to shake again.

"L-Louis, I don't think I can do this," Liam breathed and Louis placed a hand on Liam's shoulder, rubbing it softly.

"Yes you can, just go in there and blow them away. And if they don't like you, I'll knock 'em senseless," Louis said with a smirk and Liam didn't know whether he should laugh, because Louis was probably telling the truth and that would not be a good thing. There was more screaming and yelling coming from inside the room and Liam shivered, moving aside for the crying girl to come through the door and run down the hall. The boy turned to Louis, biting his lip.

"I can't do it, I just can't," Liam said and Louis rolled his eyes, "I... I'm not good enough and they're going to laugh at me and-"

Louis cut off Liam's ramblings by grabbing onto Liam's face, thumb running over the blushing cheeks and fingers lightly grasping his brown hair so as to not mess it up.

"Go in there," Louis said softly and Liam blinked once, twice, before sighing and turning to grab onto the door handle and pull it open. The sound stage was cool in both decorations of guitars and records and the cold temperature. Everyone turned to look at them walking inside, most of the cast's eyes widening and began to whisper among themselves when they saw Louis. He figured that they would remember him, he probably flicked a burning cigarette at a couple of them. Sitting at a table across from the teens was a man who was glaring at the two boys darkly.

"You! Shortie! You're up first!" he shouted and Louis pointed at Liam.

"No, I'm here for him. He wants to audition," Louis explained and Liam smiled brightly but the man's expression remained the same.

"Well guess what, anyone that walks through that door either auditions or gets out. What's it going to be?" he said with a scowl and Louis frowned. Liam was looking at him pleadingly, practically begging him not to leave him by himself with all the strangers in the room. Louis sighed, pointing over to Liam.

"He needs to go first," Louis said and he could see that the man was beginning to grow annoyed with this, but Liam raised his hands.

"Just give me 10 minutes," Liam replied.

"You've got 5. Tell the band what you're singing," the man grumbled and Liam nodded, quickly running over to the small group of musicians to tell them his song selection. The percussionists and trumpeters nodded, though looking a little nervous at the man that was watching them closely and the music started up sounding loud, with a slow guitar beat. Louis glanced over, seeing that the cast of teens were starting to take interest in the boy that was swaying his hips to the beat and smiling bright at the large man.

Liam sang at the top of his lungs, voice sounding strong and sending a little spark down Louis' spine.

"Stop! Stop!" the man shouted and the music cut off in an instant. Liam stopped dancing, looking at the man confused as he gripped the table tightly. "Look around you, do you even think we have that kind of music here?"

"B-But-" Liam stuttered out but the man's booming voice silenced him.

"No! Why don't you take your little song and get out of here!"

"Hey!" Louis shouted, storming over and Liam's eyes widening with fear and moving trying to hold him back. "What gives you the right to talk to him like that, huh! Especially since he can sing and can dance! Are you blind or something!"

"Your friend isn't good enough for this show!" the man shouted and Louis' eyes grew livid, struggling in Liam's grasp and trying to swing a fist at the man that was beginning to call security to drag the two of them out.

That is, until he heard someone call out, "Louis, cool it."

Louis stopped thrashing about to look over at the direction of the voice, seeing Harry leaning up against the door frame with toothpick hanging between his thin lips. The cast was staring at Harry too, trying to see if that was the leader of the greaser pack himself. However, Harry sure didn't look the part. He was dressed nice and clean cut, blueish suit with a tie. A tie. Something was up and Louis wasn't for sure why the curly haired brunette was gracing them with his presence. "How's the audition going?" Harry asked, walking over and shiny black dress shoes clacking along the hard floor with each step that was watched with curious eyes from the cast. Harry had that way with people, the way to control an audience to focus on him and nothing but.

"This fat pig thinks that Liam can't sing or dance and he was amazing!" Louis said and Harry quirked an eyebrow, hearing an undertone in the boy's voice and Louis blushed red.

"Calling him a 'fat pig' isn't going to get us anywhere," Harry said, turning over to face the man and placed on that smile that Harry always faked, that smile that made him look so perfect and wholesome. "Maybe I can talk you into giving my friend another chance."

"... Are you here to audition?"

"I might be," Harry said with a toothy grin and Louis raised an eyebrow. What the hell was the brunette up to? Harry glanced over at the band, strolling over to the group and telling them the song before walking back and turning his back on the man to face the cast. And that was when it clicked for Louis. Duh, the brunette was here to fuck with Niall. Louis just didn't know what he was doing or what he was going to gain out of it.

"Well since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell. It's down at the end of Lonely Street at Heartbreak Hotel where I'll be... I've been so lonely baby, well I'm so lonely. I'll be so lonely, I could die," Harry sung softly, walking over to one of the girls that were sitting next to Niall and gently let his hand caress her cheek. The girl let out a contented sigh and Niall was blushing hard, either afraid or anticipating him to be next as Harry swayed his hips slightly to the bass' beat. "Oh although it's always crowded, you can still find some room. For broken hearted lovers to cry away their gloom, they'll be so... they'll be so lonely baby, they'll be so lonely. They'll be so lonely, they could die."

Harry swooned the other couple of girls that were sitting by Niall, the boy now turning an even darker shade of pink and Louis could see the playful smile that was on Harry's lips as he heard the large man call for the band to stop playing and the brunette turned, hearing another couple of sighs behind him and chatter.

"... I don't want you on the show," the man blurted out and Louis growled. Seriously, what was wrong with this guy? He probably couldn't see any talent through those goofy glasses of his and probably every single kid on this show was probably some buffoon in a suit and dress. This was a waste of their time, might as well just leave before Louis really gets tempted to jump over that table and beat the man to a pulp. Harry was nodding like he wasn't bothered, he shouldn't be. He got what he wanted, Niall flustered and probably having a problem in his pants. Louis turned to give the man one more scowl before nudging Liam towards the door. But then, Louis heard a second voice call out.

"Charles!"

It sounded like a man and Louis could see someone entering the sound stage on the other side of the large room, the large man standing up at attention and the teens quickly standing up and making an organized line as another man approached the large crowd of people. The cast gave bows and curtsies, smiling pleasantly.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Cowell," they all said in perfect unison that kind of freaked Louis out. He was wary about Liam being on this show because of all the goody-goodies that graced the stage with their 'better than you' attitude. But now, they were acting like perfect, little robots. He didn't want Liam changing into something like that, he liked the boy just the way he was. A shy and playful sweetheart. Mr. Cowell turned, looking at the three boys with a raised eyebrow and pointed at each one.

"Is this it? I said I wanted ten new people, I see only three," Mr. Cowell said sternly and Charles was shaking in his place behind the table, giving Louis a bit of satisfaction. Maybe he'll stick around to see him get yelled at.

Or fired.

Louis was hoping more for the latter.

"Cowell, these guys are leaving and there isn't any more new talent in this town," Charles quickly said and Cowell raised an eyebrow, turning to the cast.

"Can they sing? And if you lie, you're out," he threatened and pointed at a scrawny boy dressed in a brown suit and he quickly shook his head yes.

"Absolutely sir! The shorter one didn't sing yet but the others can sing very well... sir," the boy squeaked out and Cowell glanced at Harry and then at Liam. Charles rushed from behind the table he was slightly cowering behind and stood next to the man, hands raised.

"Cowell, this one came in with a greaser, we can't have any of that on our show!" Charles replied, pointing at Liam and the boy frowned.

"And the greaser, I hate his attitude" he pointed at Louis and scowled. "And this one," he pointed at Harry, "I got a bad feeling about him, he's only here to mess with the girls."

"He's a greaser, what did you expect?" Cowell replied, looking at Louis.

"Both of them are greasers, sir," Niall said quietly and Harry turned to give Niall a frown. Cowell raised an eyebrow, walking over to Harry and looking him up and down.

"You dress nice for a greaser," Cowell observed and Harry nodded.

"That I do, sir."

"... Do you think that your friend can clean up as well?" the man asked and Louis' eyes widened. Since when was he brought into this deal of being on the show? He was only here for Liam and only for support, not to mess with people like Harry was doing, just for support. Being on this show? That will just make himself question and reject his sexuality even more. Louis did like to sing when he was by himself and he was a decent dancer, but the others didn't know that. And he wasn't going to let anyone else know about it so they can laugh at him. He was a greaser, greasers don't sing or dance!

"I'm sure he would if our friend was on the show with us... if you are considering all three of us," Harry said and Louis blushed. Cowell smiled at Harry, liking the brunette's business composure and clasped his hands together.

"Well then, looks like there will be 13 instead of 20. Welcome to the show," Cowell replied and Harry smiled the same time Niall's eyes widened. Liam smiled brightly, looking at Louis with bright eyes.

"Hold it! He hasn't sung yet!" Charles shouted and pointed at Louis. The boy groaned, he really didn't want to do this. He didn't want to sing and he didn't want to be on the show, acting all cutesy and teeny-bopper. Ha, he spat at things like that. Liam pat his arm, trying to get the boy to go over to the band and tell them a song but Louis remained firmly planted where he stood. He wasn't going to do this, he wasn't going to be ridiculed because of the questioning look in Harry's eyes or the hopeful and loving gaze Liam was giving him. Liam's innocent wide brown eyes that was hoping that Louis would say yes.

So Louis looked up at Cowell, looking straight into the man's eyes and said, "No."

Liam's eyes looked shattered.

Harry just rolled his.

"You don't want to be on the show? Be seen by millions and millions of screaming teenage girls?" Cowell asked and Louis shook his head.

"This isn't my thing," Louis muttered, trying to ignore Liam's heartbroken eyes and Cowell sighed.

"Fine then, looks like we're just adding two more members. Goodbye, gentlemen, kids," Cowell replied, turning on his heel and heading out the direction that he entered while Charles glared darkly at the two newest additions to the show. Harry really wasn't paying attention, his eyes were on Niall's sweating and ready to faint or panic face. Liam was just looking down at the ground like a rejected puppy.

"You won't last a week," Charles gritted through his teeth, snapping his fingers and storming off with the rest of the cast following him, not even bothering to give their new co-stars a congratulations or a pat on the back or even a smile. All of them had the same stone-faced expression and it made Louis half glad that he wasn't going to become like them. He just hoped Liam wouldn't either. Harry was glaring at him, frown on his lips.

"Some boyfriend you are," he muttered and Louis blushed, growling and shoved Harry roughly.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Louis hissed and Harry just ignored him, turning and walking out of the large, cold room with Liam following behind and Louis let out an annoyed sigh as he chased after the boy. They exited the studio, Harry taking his own way and Liam trying to get away from Louis' shouts telling him to turn around and Louis grabbed at the boy's wrist. "Dammit, turn around when I'm talking to you!" Louis snapped and Liam yanked his wrist out of Louis' grasp.

"You didn't want to join the show. You didn't want to be there with me. I thought you liked me! He was practically giving you the spot!" Liam shouted, hands balled into fists as if he was getting ready to punch Louis in anger and Louis frowned.

"I don't know how to sing or dance!" the boy lied.

"They can teach you! I could have taught you!... I would have tried to get on a show if you were on it... because I would want to spend more time with you... do you even like me at all, Louis?" Liam asked sadly and another annoyed grunt came from Louis' lips as he grabbed onto the boy's wrist and tugged him into the alley by the studio where it was dark and gloomy and trash littered the ground, slamming Liam up against the wall and gave Liam a rough and forceful kiss. Liam was stiff, he didn't move as Louis bit and sucked and forced his mouth open with his tongue, the wet muscle sliding and tasting Liam's sweet and fresh mouth with each lick and movement. Soon, Liam was beginning to moan and gasp into the kiss, eyes fluttering as Louis began to grind his hips against the smaller boy and feeling his heart begin to throb against his chest at the feeling of the boy writhing underneath him.

Then his eyes widened when he felt Liam buck his own hips up and felt a glorious friction between the two erections.

Louis jumped away, face reddening and panting heavily. Liam... Liam was getting hard for him? No, Liam was too innocent for something like that. Liam couldn't be aroused by Louis. Louis was making Liam... Louis began to panic. Louis figured kissing Liam wouldn't really make him gay, maybe just confused. Louis figured that as long as Liam was the one that was giving the blowjobs, he was the more masculine and more straight of the pair. But now... now Liam wanted sex. To give his virginity to Louis. The boy was looking at Louis in sadness, lip quivering.

"Louis?... I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Louis didn't hear the rest of Liam's words, he was already running out of the alley and leaving the other boy behind.


	4. Ball and Chain

"So, you're gonna be on that show? You turning soft on us, Harry?" Zayn asked and Harry shot a glare that clearly told the other boy to shut up unless he wanted to be walking home on the dark streets. Zayn pressed his lips tight together and snuggled deeper into the leather of the Thunderbird's passenger seat, looking out the window onto the dimly lit street as Harry drove slowly along. Yeah, Harry was going to be on the show. He and Liam are going to be 'temporary Rollers' until they get good response for them being on the show from the millions and millions of fans. And if they do, they'll be regular members. And Harry could have all the time to see Niall and have fun with him. Harry began to smile a bit, this was perfect.

Niall couldn't run away from Harry now, he couldn't leave the show and throw away all of his reputation like that. And he couldn't ignore Harry anymore because now, Harry gets to dance by him. Harry gets to sing with him, talk to him. He was going to be there, whether Niall wanted him to or not. Harry's eyes flickered over to the side of the street, seeing someone walking slowly down the sidewalk with a small child squirming in their arms and the brunette raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was a girl. It wasn't safe walking around these parts of town this late at night. Sometimes when the boys were feeling adventurous, they would be running around here trying to pick fights with the neighboring gangs. Fist fight, knife fight, two on two, all out brawl, they did it all. But a girl around these streets couldn't lead to anything good. Especially a girl with a baby.

So Harry slowly drove up alongside, rolling down the window to ask if he could give her a ride. Then his eyes widened at the familiar blonde hair, blue eyes and pouting lips.

"Cara?" Harry asked and the girl turned, arm around the baby tightening for a split second in fear before looking close into the car and sighing.

"Oh, it's just you Harry," Cara said softly and turned to continue walking down the street. Zayn was looking over and scowling.

"Come on, Harry. Leave that ball and chain," Zayn muttered.

"Shut up," Harry snapped, continuing to drive along the sidewalk and keeping up with the blonde girl. "Cara, get in the car."

"I'm fine, Harry."

"Get in the car before I force you in."

"Harry, I'm fine. I know how to get home from here so you can just leave."

"Yeah, Harry. Come on, let's leave her," Zayn said, clearly annoyed.

"Shut up," Harry snapped at his friend again, keeping eyes on the girl and the child that was burying their face in her chest, "Cara, get in the car now."

"Harry-"

"I said now!" Harry shouted and Cara groaned in annoyance, the cherry red car stopping as she walked over and pulled open the backseat door. The girl slid into the seat, holding the child tight in her arms and trying to keep a firm hold on the baby as the car began to continue down the street. Cara Delevingne knew Harry Styles very well. Cara Delevingne also knew Zayn Malik very well. It was one of those summer flings, the kind like Liam and Louis experienced at the lake, but for Harry and Cara. She was pretty cute at that summer bash in her bikini meant to capture all the guys attention. Then after Harry had a couple of drinks stolen from the party host's ice chest, Harry thought the girl was gorgeous and took her out onto his beach blanket for a night of passion that ended with them sleeping in the sand nude until the sun rose. But it was just a fling, nothing else.

Summer ended, so did Harry's connection with the blonde until it came time to find out that Zayn was dating and sleeping around with Cara as well. Harry didn't care, she and him were just a fling. But one day, Zayn came around saying that he dumped the blonde girl because she wound up getting pregnant. Girls didn't last long around here if they were having a baby, 9 months on 'vacation' and then it will be an extremely lucky chance to even see the girl afterwords with the baby somewhere else.

Only this girl was stubborn. And 9 months later, she was walking around the streets with baby in her arms and head held down.

The teens in the car were silent, other than the little coos and noises from the gurgling baby boy in Cara's lap. Cara never did say if the baby belonged to Zayn, no one really knew who the father was and Zayn just assumed that it was his. But as Harry glanced into his rear-view mirror at the child, large and wide green eyes being semi-covered by the brown curls and looking around with little fists hitting the leather of the backseat, he had a good feeling just whose child it was.

"Cara, what are you doing walking around here this late? And with a baby too?" Harry asked and the girl rolled her eyes.

"You're not my dad, Harry. I was doing just fine, I was walking to my grandmother's home from my friend's house."

"Couldn't leave the baby at your grandma's?"

"Why are we asking questions, here? Look, just tell us where your old lady's house is so we can drop you and the ankle-biter off," Zayn said snidely and Cara frowned.

"Excuse me? Don't talk about my son like that," the girl said, holding her little boy tight as they hit a small bump.

"All I'm saying is, smarter girls that didn't want to ruin their lives by dragging a kid around them would have given it up the moment it came out. But not you. You just had to be different and always walking around the bar with that thing," Zayn criticized and Harry's grip tightened on the wheel. Sure, Zayn was afraid that the child was his. Zayn would always freak out whenever Cara came around down the street, worried that she might have something to say about the baby or that she needed some money when he was broke. Cara looked down, holding the child and letting out a sigh.

"... Harry... haven't seen you in a while. Anything new?" Cara asked and Harry shrugged.

"Saw some movies, I'm on a dance show, nothing special," Harry replied and he could see Cara's eyes widening in the mirror.

"You're on TV? Oh wow! What show is it?"

"That 'Syco Record' show. Stupid though, just there because a friend tried out and made it too and also there's a real cutie I'd like to talk to."

Cara raised an eyebrow, smiling a curved grin. "Oh, a girl?"

Ha, a boy.

The baby boy began to make noise once again and Zayn let out an annoyed grunt.

"Can't you shut that thing up?" the greaser snapped and Cara frowned again.

"He's not a thing, he's just a baby."

"Yeah, and he's making noise!"

"... Harry, stop the car," Cara said quietly and Harry raised an eyebrow. They haven't been driving far and Cara still didn't tell them where her grandmother's house was.

"Cara-"

"Harry, please stop the car," the girl repeated and Harry slowed the car down, the girl climbing out and taking the baby in her arms to continue walking down the street. Harry watched the girl's retreating figure and turned to the brunette that was smirking in the car beside him.

"So, about that show-"

"Idiot," Harry cut off and Zayn blinked.

"... What-"

"Get out," Harry said sternly and Zayn gaped his mouth, turning to see the blonde girl walking farther off into the distance.

"Don't tell me you're kicking me out for the slut and the little brat."

"Get out before I punch you through the window," Harry threatened, green eyes shining dark and Zayn stared at Harry for a couple of minutes before furiously unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car, slamming the door roughly.

"If I get mugged, it's going to be your fault!" Zayn shouted as Harry drove away, trying to catch up with the teenage mother. Cara was a couple of blocks away when Harry pulled up and rolled his window down once again. Cara glanced over at him and back up ahead.

"If I get in the car, am I going to hear how I should have given up my child?"

"No. Get in," Harry replied and Cara sighed before opening the door and climbing back into the backseat. "Where's your grandma's?"

"Just a couple of blocks from here. I'll tell you when to make a left," Cara replied and Harry nodded, continuing to drive down the empty street in silence other than the baby's continuous giggles from Cara bouncing the boy on her lap. "He got a name?" Harry asked, looking into the mirror at the baby's smile.

"Robert. Robert William Delevingne," Cara said with a small smile, her son still chirping in her lap and Harry nodded, now seeing someone else walking down the streets and he rolled his eyes. Honestly, how many people need to be out at this hour? And better yet, since when did he become the good Samaritan to give these people a ride? He wasn't a taxi service.

Then as he approached the figure, he recognized the blonde hair, concentrating expression and of course, the slim figure underneath the blue suit.

"Hey Nialler!" Harry shouted out and Niall tensed before trying to walk faster. "You can't ignore me, I'd recognize that piece of ass anywhere!"

Harry didn't care if the words that were coming out of his mouth sounded very questioning in Cara's ears, he was in a state of happiness at the thought of his little Nialler there and in desperate need of a ride. "I'll give you a ride home!"

"I don't need it. Leave me alone," Niall snapped back.

"Fine then, I'll just follow you so that way I can drive by your house every night," Harry said and Niall groaned. "Come on, we're castmates now!"

Niall looked like he was trying to weigh the pros and cons of getting into the Thunderbird. Pros would be that he wouldn't have to walk all the way home back to the suburbs, he probably wouldn't get mugged, he'd get to enjoy the delights of Harry's company. Cons, Harry would probably screw him in the backseat if Cara's destination was first. Harry licked his lips, mmm. The thought of fucking Niall in the backseat of the car, the Thunderbird parked off in a dark and secluded area and the cool leather mixing against the heated skin made Harry's pants tighten and he was staring at the blonde with a hungry look. Niall sighed and as he approached the corner and Harry began to slow to a stop, Niall looked over at the driver's smiling face.

"A ride home. That's it," Niall said sternly, opening the car door and getting into the passenger's seat where Zayn was sitting and making Harry even more glad he decided to kick the greaser out. Sure, he was a bad friend by putting girls and sexy nerds first but hey, it wasn't like he and Zayn were that close. Zayn was more of a moocher than an actual friend anyways. Niall buckled himself in, obviously nervous about being in such a close and confined area with Harry and his nerves only got worse when he heard the little cry from the baby in the backseat. Niall turned, saw the baby and then Cara and then closed his eyes as a groan escaped his lips, "Oh god-"

"They're friends. That's not a problem, is it?" Harry asked and Niall blushed.

"No... not a problem at all."

"Good... Niall, this is Cara and Robert Delevingne. Cara, this is Niall Horan. He's on the show too," Harry introduced and Cara smiled uneasily.

"Nice to meet you... um, Harry make the left here and then my grandmother's house is that last one on the right," Cara said quietly and Harry nodded, going with the girl's directions and turning onto the quiet and lit street. Looked like people were having parties, the street was filled with cars and lights were on in every home with the faint sound of music coming from the abodes. Robert began to giggle once more, pointing and shouting at the houses and making noise as Cara tried to shush her son. It didn't bother Harry, he thought it was actually kind of cute. Niall did look uncomfortable, but Harry assumed it was because Cara was a teenage girl with a baby. And Niall was raised to believe that was wrong. Harry was raised like that too but hell, he was also raised to like only girls and wait until he was married to give his virginity.

Harry pulled up to a quiet house, the lights all dark and Cara let out a small sigh as Harry turned around.

"There, we're at your grandma's. Probably would have took you longer if you were getting here by foot," Harry said and she nodded, taking a hold of Robert and stepping out of the car. Cara seemed almost hesitant to go up to the door, standing by the car with the squirming baby in her arms and then slowly walking up to the white door as Harry watched her. The door opened and Harry couldn't really see the figure in the dark, but one thing was sure.

It looked a little bit too big and too masculine to be a granny.

Cara was hurriedly whisked inside and the door slammed shut, leaving the two boys alone in the car. Harry frowned, staring at the closed door for a couple of seconds before turning and making his way back up the street. "Where's your place at?" Harry asked and Niall glanced over.

"Um, not too far from here, I think it's just a couple of streets away," Niall muttered and Harry rolled his eyes. What was with the distant attitude? Like Niall didn't even know Harry and acting like Harry didn't have feelings. He was trying to reconnect with Niall, he really wanted to get back into the boy's life and he wanted Niall in his just as bad. He liked Niall, he liked how he was so poised and perfect. It was the perfect image and that fragility that Harry loved. And he wanted to feel Niall in his arms like they were in the alley, when the image didn't matter and that fragile side came through.

So Harry could be able to put the pieces back together. So Harry could be needed and wanted.

So Harry could be loved by someone.

Niall was quiet, twiddling his fingers and Harry was driving purposely slow. He turned over to the boy, hand reaching out to grab onto a knob for the radio.

"Want to listen to some music?"

"Um... sure... " Niall barely said above a whisper and Harry tuned the radio stations, static sounds filling the car until Harry finally landed on a station that was playing some rock n' roll that made the brunette smile bright. Harry looked over at Niall to find that the boy's face had the most deadest expression and he raised an eyebrow.

"You don't like it?"

"My parent's don't let me listen to rock n' roll."

"Why?... Oh don't tell me your parents think it's the devil's music. Social rebellion and all that garbage?" Harry asked and the blush that appeared on Niall's face clearly said yes. Harry scoffed, "I don't see how you can't hear it, they're playing it everywhere. Don't they play it on the show?"

"... My parents don't really approve of me being on the show," Niall mumbled and Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"They think that it might get in the way of my studies. They want me to be a doctor, not a singer. The only reason that I'm still on the show is because I promised that I'll keep my grades up."

"... Do you like singing?"

Niall blushed and smiled lightly, "It's fun, it really is. Singing and dancing for millions of people. And the cast is real fun and so is the host-"

"You telling me that fat pig of yours is fun?" Harry asked, thinking back on Charles and his little threat to Liam and him. Rehearsals for the show was all this week for the Saturday show and Louis sneaked in on more than one occasion to act like a guard dog for Liam. If the small boy heard a rude slur from the large man, he went ballistic and raved and screamed and was either dragged out of the studio by security or bolted out of the studio before Liam could try and talk to him. Harry had to scoff at that, Louis was still acting like a prick about his real feelings and sexuality. Niall shook his head.

"No, Charles' our band leader and one of the producers. He just picks out the music and plays it for us. Our host is Davis Gray," Niall explained. Harry really couldn't tell that there was a host on the show, everyone on the damn thing looked exactly the same. Maybe they could all wear a name tag or something. Then again, Harry wouldn't be paying attention. He only watched the show to see Niall and only payed attention to the boy anyways. Niall told Harry to make a left and Harry turned, the street quieter than the one that had Cara's grandmother's home or whoever was in the house that the blonde and her child went inside. Niall's street was kind of like Harry's, clean and perfectly organized. And Harry figured that the people that were sleeping in their beds in their homes looked and acted the same as the people on his street.

Twas the norm of suburbia. You couldn't walk down the street without having the feeling of being down the same street twice.

"Right here. Here's my house," Niall said and Harry stopped in front of nice and normally sized home. Looked kind of big for just three people, maybe Niall had siblings of his own or something. Harry looked over and Niall was still sitting in the car, surprising Harry slightly that the boy wasn't already unbuckling the seat belt and trying to make a break for the door.

"... So... we're here in a car," Harry said rather dumbly.

"Yeah... " Niall responded

"... And your parents are yards away in the house..."

"... Yeah..."

Fuck the subtlety.

Harry reached over and pulled Niall into a rough kiss, lips capturing the boy by surprise and mouth parting in shock. Harry had to smile in the kiss, just like when they were 15. And Niall's mouth still tasted just as sweet and innocent, tongue running and rolling over Niall's and probing the wet muscle roughly. He could hear Niall gasping and moaning into the kiss, weak hands trying to push Harry away and Harry sucked hard on the lips. Niall yanked his head out of Harry's grasp, hand covering his mouth and blue eyes staring at the greaser in horror.

"Why are you doing this!" Niall hissed and Harry frowned.

"I want to ask you the same thing."

"What?"

"Why the hell are you acting like this with me? We had sex, we kissed, I sucked you off, what am I doing wrong?"

"I'm not a homosexual, Harry!"

"You're as bad as Louis with that 'I'm not gay but I still like to fuck around with boys' shit," Harry growled, digging into the side compartment of his car door for his pack of cigarettes.

"What, and you're completely fine with liking boys?"

"Yeah. And I like girls too."

"Your parents know?"

"No, my mom will kill herself if she knows half of the things that I done."

"So why don't you understand my position?"

"I don't get it because you're lying to me and you're lying to yourself. I know who I am, you don't even know who you really are or what you really want," Harry said sharply and Niall frowned.

"So you think you're better than me because you admit you like sleeping with boys? Ugh, you're so full of it," Niall muttered and Harry couldn't help the snort, taking the cigarette and blowing a stream of smoke. He turned to Niall with an amused smile on his face.

"Full of what? Mommy don't let you curse? She won't know what happened in this car, I won't tell her," Harry teased and Niall turned red. He leaned in closer, smile still on his lips, "Go on, say it. I'm full of what?"

Niall bit his lip, looking at Harry with supposedly threatening eyes. "You're full of shit and I hate you."

"Ooh, now I really want to screw you to see what other dirty words come out of that pretty little mouth," Harry said with a waggle of the eyebrows and Niall blushed dark, trying to get out of the seatbelt and the car quickly.

"Get bent," Niall snapped and Harry laughed.

"I'll bend over for you if you bend over for me," Harry replied and Niall was having an awfully hard time unbuckling that seatbelt. Harry rolled his eyes. "Here, let me help you," the brunette said quietly, leaning more over Niall's lap than necessary and snapping the belt off. His head lingered over Niall's lap, hands sliding over and brushing over a bulge. Harry smiled, looking up into Niall's flushed face and bringing his head down to kiss Niall's clothed erection. Niall gasped and Harry' eyes flickered up, mouthing the outline of Niall's erection through the cloth. "Look me straight in the eyes and tell me that this doesn't turn you on. Tell me that the idea of me unzipping you and sucking you off is disgusting and horrible," Harry whispered, licking the front of Niall's pants and Niall let out a strangled moan. Niall found the strength to push Harry's head away, practically trying to climb out the window of the car before managing to unlock it and he fell out onto the sidewalk in a frantic escape.

Niall scurried off to his door, unlocking it and running inside and Harry groaned, realizing that he didn't manage to relieve his own little problem yet. Another night in his bed with his hand down his pants and stroking himself to images of Niall nude and legs spread just for Harry.

Niall couldn't avoid him. After all, tomorrow is their first live show together.


	5. Not That Kind of Girl

"Harry~H-Harry, I'm not that kind of girl."

"You're not wearing a bra, so I think you are," Harry muttered into the girl's neck, hands going up to grab roughly at her chest and she let out a whimper of pleasure. Sure, it was risky with Harry feeling up one of the girls from the show when they were ready to go on in about ten minutes but hey, she was pretty cute. If only Harry remembered her name though, Amber? Amy? Ashley? They really needed name tags on this show. Whatever the hell her name was, she was enjoying the way that Harry was kissing and sucking on her neck, giving her breasts another rough squeeze and she gave a loud gasp.

"H-Harry, ngh. Oh, Harry~" the girl moaned out and he gave a little lick, hands moving away from her chest down to her hips.

"Maybe you could use some touching in another place," Harry breathed into her skin, hands moving down to go underneath her dress and grab a hold of the lacy underwear, ready to yank down. Then he heard the door open and the girl tensed underneath his touch, Harry quickly removing his hands and shoving them into his pocket as he turned around to give off his innocent look. Harry then frowned when he saw that it was only Niall, who was staring at the two of them with a mixed face.

"Stacy, Jennifer's looking for you," Niall mumbled. Stacy? Whoa, Harry was real off. The girl quickly pushed past the two boys and hurried away as Niall stared at Harry. The brunette smirked a little, leaning against the wall he had the girl pressed up against.

"Wanna make out?" Harry asked and Niall's eyes widened, cheeks blushed red and lips frowning.

"How could you ask me that! You are supposed to be here to sing and dance! Not trying to have sex with the girls! Do you want to get fired?"

"Didn't know you cared."

"I-I don't! I just don't, I mean, fuck you!" Niall shouted in exasperation and Harry smiled, turning around and sticking out his bottom.

"Please do," he said, tilting his head back to look over his shoulder and give Niall a look worthy of a pinup model. Niall blushed, turning on his heel and running out down the hall. He smiled, turning back around and strolling down the hall after the boy. It was frantic around showtime, girls and boys rushing to make sure their face was television ready, practicing their dance steps that were taught to them over and over again, just all around socializing. Well, unless you were Harry or Liam. The cast hasn't really accepted the two boys as one of them and Liam was standing off to the side, practicing the dance by himself when a couple of other boys were doing the exact same thing and doing it as a group. Harry bit his lip, he really didn't know Liam that well but he might as well try and talk to him. See if he's feeling comfortable.

When Harry approached the boy, Liam did a turn and stumbled a bit, letting out a groan of annoyance and trying out the spin again. Harry watched his feet, trying to jump in and be dancing alongside with him and soon the two boys were dancing simultaneously with Liam still not noticing Harry's presence until he turned and stumbled into Harry. The boy blushed as he collided with the greaser and Harry laughed lightly.

"You're pretty good, you know that?"

"Yeah... but I just can't get the spin and it's five more minutes til show time and what if Louis' watching and-"

"Hey, hey. Relax. Louis' still going to jerk off to you even if you're doing nothing but falling," Harry said dryly and Liam blushed red, looking down at the floor and twiddling his fingers.

"... He doesn't like me like that. He doesn't even want to kiss me and he keeps pushing me away... Louis doesn't like me," Liam muttered and Harry sighed. The poor sweetheart, Harry half wanted to just pull the small boy into his arms and give him a little kiss and say everything will be alright because Louis is just an idiot sometimes. But half of him felt a connection with Liam, particularly because both of their objects of affections don't want to return or put in the effort of reciprocating the feelings. They were the two lonely hearts of the show and the stage was beginning to get swarmed with the kids placing on their generic smiles and the music getting started up. Liam quickly rushed over to his spot and Harry strolled over to his own, smiling a seductive smile as he saw the red light go on.

Dancing and singing on a show gave off an entirely new thrill and Harry thought that it was actually pretty cool. He was positioned between two girls that had hair swinging wild and in front of him was Niall, giving Harry a perfect view of the boy's backside. And Harry figured that he saw the host of the show, the man way up in front and dancing along with the rest of the cast. Harry really couldn't see, there may be only thirteen people that were on stage dancing but those thirteen people were moving and waving and looked pretty much the same. Then Harry heard the drum solo, signaling the drawing conclusion of the theme song and everyone rushed up to get into the final pose. Harry saw Liam do the spin and then almost tripped over his own feet but before he could even fall, a boy rushed up from behind and caught him to rush him over to the rest of the group. Harry smiled, at least someone was acknowledging the two of them.

"Hey there kids! Ready to meet the newest additions to the Rollers?" the eccentric host said into the camera and all of the kids other than Harry and Liam chirped out an equally enthusiastic 'Yes!'. Harry felt himself being shoved up to the front and Liam was pushed out a couple seconds later and the man threw an arm around Liam first, tilting the microphone over to Liam' lips. "Wanna tell the folks at home your name and a little something about yourself?" the man said with a smile and Liam gave off a nervous smile.

"Hi! Uh, my name is Liam and I love singing and dancing and hi everybody!" Liam chirped ever so happily and Harry smiled a little, seeing the microphone moving over to him and he sighed.

"Names' Harry. I'm quite the gentleman," he said and he could distinctively pick out a scoff that sounded like it came from Niall. Davis smiled, giving Harry a pat on the back and turned over to look at Charles, who was readying the band for the next song to be played.

"They're real catches, huh Charles?" the host called out and the large man gave a roll of the eyes. Davis turned to the two boys, Harry scowling at the man's backside. "He's a nice guy when you know him."

"Yeah, has the face only a mother could love," Harry said slyly. Davis thought the comment was pretty funny. The rest of the kids were staring at Harry with a horrified expression. And Charles was trying his best not to run over and choke the living daylights out of the smirking brunette. The host turned to the camera, extending a hand out to the kids behind him.

"And we can't forget our original Rollers! Let's hear it for them! Roll call!" the host shouted and the teens got into an organized little line and their own personal pose as the camera landed on each one of their faces.

"I'm Jennifer!" a blonde girl shouted.

"The name is Jett," a brunette gave a cocky wink.

"I'm Steve," the boy said rather blandly.

"My name's Jennifer too!" a brunette girl said in an almost mirror tone of the first Jennifer.

"I'm Stacy," the girl said, putting on an innocent smile that Harry wanted to laugh at.

"T-Todd," a boy stuttered out, head down and not looking at the camera.

"Mercedes," a blonde girl said bitterly, obviously not wanting to really be here.

"I'm Andrew," a brunette with thick black-framed glasses said with a pleasant smile and Harry recognized him as the boy that saved Liam from falling.

"I'm Jenny!" a blonde girl said enthusiastically, swinging her arms out and almost hitting the boy next to her. Thank goodness he ducked.

"And I'm Niall," Niall said with a charming smile that faltered when he heard a low whistle from Harry. The host clapped his hands and the other teens followed as the man turned to speak to the camera once more.

"We'll be right back with our first song of the show, a song released last year but now climbing the charts. It's 'The Great Pretender' which will be sung by... hey what do you know. It's going to be sung by our newest Roller, Liam!" Davis replied and Liam went pale. Jett was staring at the host as if he had grown three heads and let out a little laugh.

"But I get the first song," the brunette said, still having an 'You have got to be kidding me' smile and Davis let out a laugh.

"Such a jokester, Jett," the host replied, still smiling at the camera as Jett's smile began to disappear off of his face. The red light went off and all of the smiles that were on any faces disappeared and the host stretched his arms, turning to Liam and slapping him on the back, "Good luck kiddo!"

"B-B-But," Liam stuttered but Mr. Gray was already walking away to get some coffee. Harry turned to look at Jett, who was scowling at Liam and frowned, walking over and standing in front of Jett's vision.

"Is there a problem?" Harry asked calmly, eyebrow raised and Jett frowned even more, turning on his heel and storming off the stage. Harry shrugged, guess not.

"Hey there," a calm voice said behind Harry and he turned, seeing Andrew standing behind him and smile still on his face that hasn't faltered from the camera not being on. First time someone talked to him other than Niall and he helped Liam. So therefore, he was an automatic friend in Harry's eyes.

Plus, the boy was kind of cute. He might be a future bedmate for all Harry knew.

"Hey there yourself."

"Well, let me say congrats on making it."

"Thanks. At least someone likes me being here unlike some asses," Harry swore, looking directly at Niall when he said that and Andrew gave a little laugh.

"Um, well I'm sorry about that, they're real nice people when you get to know them," the boy replied, head turned the other way and talking to the air. Harry raised an eyebrow, trying to see what he was looking at and then his confusion grew more when he saw that Andrew was staring at Liam and his worried expression. The brunette in the deep green suit didn't say anything, just staring at Liam with a sweet smile and Harry slowly took his chin to turn Andrew back to facing him and he smiled playfully.

"I'm over here," Harry said with a grin and the faintest hint of pink grew over the bridge of Andrew's nose. In the boy's glasses, Harry could see the reflection of Niall watching them and he smirked. Aw, is our little Nialler getting jealous that Harry was touching another boy? Too bad.

"Thanks for helping my friend back there," Harry said and Andrew turned to look over at Liam's still nerve struck and panicked face and the boy sighed, looking at the ground.

"Yeah, I know what it's like to fall on live TV. Did it and broke my glasses. Plus, he's new here so I wouldn't want him to be embarrassed over something like that. He already has the song to worry about," the boy explained, fingers going up unconsciously to adjust his glasses and Harry cocked his head to the side.

"You know, you'd probably look cuter without your glasses," Harry said ever so bluntly.

"Thanks, but they make me announce the sponsors and I can't read the cue cards without them."

... Okay, Harry was sure he just gave a very upfront flirt and the boy in front of him wasn't trying to shrug him off or sputter out that he prefers boobs or anything else that might make himself question his own sexuality. And that made Harry take in the boy's face and body. He didn't look like the type to be thinking about boys, he looked like the perfect boy that Niall was trying to become once again. Mommy and Daddy's golden child and all around nice guy. The one that every girl would have wanted to bring home to their parents.

Harry stuck his hands in his pockets, leaning to the side casually. "First song is a really big deal?"

"Yeah, kind of nerve-wracking but Jett usually sings it since he's so popular and stuff."

"Who decides who sings what?"

"Charles does."

That prick. He gave Liam the first song to just mess with his head. Probably to make him believe that he wasn't good enough. Ooh, if Harry didn't want to get into Niall's life (and simultaneously his pants) so badly, he would have walked over and punched the fat man himself. Speaking of Niall, where was he anyways?... Ah, there he was, trying to not look like he was spying on Harry and Andrew by talking with Stacy and one eye flickering to look over at Harry. Harry slapped Andrew's back a couple of times.

"Can you go talk to Liam? Kind of calm him down a bit?" Harry asked and the brunette was more than enthusiastic to ease Liam's worries, heading off into the direction of the struck boy while he turned to go and do his own flirting. Hey, they had at least a minute left and Harry can get a lot of things done in a minute.

Niall was trying to focus on Stacy's meaningless conversation when Harry sauntered over, the brunette hooking an arm around the girl's waist and giving a small peck on her cheek. Harry glanced over at Niall, seeing that the boy was very uncomfortable with the display of fake affection. Hmph, if Niall really wanted Harry, he'd have to fight for him again.

Or at least offer a blowjob in the next 30 seconds.

Honestly, Harry though he deserved something from Niall after all he'd done for him.

Niall bit his lip roughly and Harry smiled at the boy.

"Nice seeing you, Niall. I like your tie, makes you look real tough," Harry complemented and Stacy made a little giggle. Niall looked clearly offended and stormed off in the other direction and Harry rolled his eyes, playing with the fabric of Stacy's dress. "How about you and me go out somewhere after the show?"

"I'm not that kind of girl, Harry."

"I'm not saying I'm going to fuck you... unless you want to go all the way," Harry said and Stacy looked like she was actually pondering the thought. What a slut. She shook her head and placed her hand on her lips.

"No, I'll settle for a date to the sockhop. Buy me a soda?" she asked, batting her eyelashes and Harry rolled his.

"Yeah, yeah. Mind if I invite Niall along? Kind of want to know some of the guys too," Harry quickly said and she nodded her head, the idea of having two handsome boys on her arm not really bothering her. Before Harry could rush over to find Niall, Liam rushed over to Harry with face flushed red.

"I-I-I'm going to sing," Liam stuttered out.

"Yeah Liam. You're going to sing. That's why we're on the show," Harry replied and Liam gave a nervous smile.

"I'm going to sing it great," Liam replied and then shyly smiled, "I'm going to sing it like I was singing to Louis."

Harry had to admire the boy's sweetness, no wonder Louis fell in love with him. Liam took another deep breath, seeing the kids returning to the stage and he walked over to the standing microphone on the platform as the host of the show reappeared with his own microphone and the red light went back on.

"Well everyone! We're back! And here to sing 'The Great Pretender', making his debut on the Syco Record Rollers Show, it's Liam!" Davis introduced and the music started up at once, girls grabbing the guys and dancing with them. Niall had no one to dance with, poor dear, as Harry gave Stacy a twirl to Liam's steady and strong voice. He could see Charles' face looking quite shocked and annoyed as he continued to direct the band and Harry smiled, Liam was a force to be reckoned with and that man wasn't going to be pulling his little tricks on him any longer.  
______________________________________________________________________________

"Niall, come on!"

"I said no, Harry! I have homework!"

"It's a Saturday!" Harry said annoyed and Niall turned his head to grab his things.

"I don't care, I don't want to go to the sock hop and just see your tongue down Stacy's throat," Niall said and Harry could hear the hurt in the boy's voice. He walked over, letting his arms gently slide around Niall and he leaned a chin on his shoulder.

"You prefer my tongue down yours? Cause if you admit it, I'll drop the date with her and spend all night with you," Harry whispered and Niall shuddered. He just had to tell Harry one word. All Niall had to do was just say 'Yes'. But instead, Niall said six words.

"Hope you have fun with Stacy," Niall muttered and pushed his way out of Harry's grasp, running past said girl. Stacy turned, blowing a bubble and the pink candy popping in her mouth.

"He's not coming?" she asked and Harry shook his head, throwing an arm around the girl's waist and a hand going up to give her breast a squeeze. She gasped, swatting his hand away. "I'm not that kind-"

"Yeah, yeah, go get your things and wait outside," Harry cut the girl off in annoyance and she pouted, walking off and he walked down the hall, seeing Liam lingering by the door and deep in thought. Harry slapped a hand on Liam's shoulder and Liam jumped a bit, calming down when he saw it was Harry. "You did great."

"Really?" Liam asked, wide eyes and little smile, "Thanks. That Andrew guy helped."

"... Hmm... what do you think about him?"

Liam blushed. "He's real nice... he asked if he could walk me home after the show."

Wow, guy works pretty fast.

Liam bit his lip and rocked on his heels. "I don't know... maybe Louis wants to walk me home..."

"It's not like you're fucking the guy. Let him walk you home, you need more friends than me anyways," Harry replied and Liam blushed a little, trying to weigh out his options. Harry really wasn't being a good friend. He knew that the brunette was looking at Liam in a way that was more than friendly, almost amorous. He knew he should have tried to snap the bespectacled boy out of it by telling him that Liam was already smitten with someone else. But at the same time, Liam was a sweet kid. And if Louis wasn't going to admit it while someone else probably will, he figured that he'd be helping Liam by broadening his horizons. Or at least gain a sort of self confidence that he was well liked.

Speak of the devil, here comes Andrew now.

The brunette smiled at the two, shyly adjusting his glasses and looked over at Liam.

"Ready to go?" he asked and Liam bit his lip, nodding his head.

"Yeah. I'll see you later, Harry," Liam said with a tiny wave goodbye and Harry gave a curt nod, walking down the hall himself and out the doors where his date was waiting for him.

Along with his greaser pack of friends that was pulling at her dress.

"Come on! Show us! Show us!" Zayn chanted and Harry growled, yanking the boy's hand off of the flowery material and shoving him into the group of boys.

"The hell is wrong with you, go find your own date," Harry snapped and Zayn held his hands up defensively.

"Hey, we were only going to drop by and say hi," Zayn snapped back with an equal amount of venom and Harry's eyes scanned over the burly faces, seeing Louis' among them and watching the door for someone to come out. Harry rolled his eyes, arm going around the girl's waist.

"Well, I'm going out. Don't bother to follow me," Harry muttered and the boys groaned in annoyance as Harry heard the door swinging open behind him and little laughs. He saw Louis' eyes widen and beginning to push through the crowd as Liam and Andrew already began to walk down the street.

"Liam!" Louis called out and Liam turned, smiling shyly at the boy and rushed over to him.

"Are you going to walk me home?" Liam asked with a heartfelt smile and Louis blushed, hearing some snickers from behind him.

"Yeah, Louis. You going to walk him home?" one of the guys grunted out followed by some laughs.

"Next thing you know, he'll be asking to marry you. 'Oh Louis, can you hold my purse for me?'," Zayn feigned a girlish shrill and all of the greasers burst into laughter while Harry watched Louis' slowly twisting and red face. Liam looked up at Louis, expecting Louis to tell them to stop the ridicule or the questions about his sexuality, but Louis just stood there and stared at the ground. Louis was fine to defend Liam when it was Charles making the nasty comments but when his friends start to do it, it was alright? Harry could see that Liam was becoming more embarrassed and hurt with each little petty comment and he let out a sigh.

"Everyone shut up," Harry snapped and the guys looked over at him, mouths closing for their leader, "... You all have to the count of ten to get out of my sight... nine... "

The greasers quickly ran down the street and Harry shot a glare at Louis, who was still standing there with his head down in embarrassment of how far he let the situation go. Harry tightened a grip around the girl's waist. "Come on, nothing to see here," Harry mumbled, turning into the opposite and taking Stacy with him.

The last thing that he could hear clearly was Liam uttering a 'Goodbye, Louis', and the sounds of the interrupted conversation starting back up once again.


	6. A Swing & Wet Dreams

Another day, another night before filled with muffled moans, skin covered in goosebumps and erotic dreams about the brunette greaser that teased and tantalized Niall's mind. Niall desperately wanted to stop, he felt guilt every time that he looked at his mother when he gave her the laundry and sheets that were sticky with sweat and semen and even more guilty whenever she'd ask about Barbara. Mrs. Horan was a gentle and calm woman, which made Niall afraid about what should happen if he ever told her the truth about who her son was. Her child, her youngest son, her only son after his brother was killed in WWII and the only one that could make her dream come true of becoming a grandmother, fantasized about a boy. Her child participating in sexual activities with a boy. Her child giving his virginity in some filthy alley to a boy at the tender age of 15.

Her little boy was so confused.

Niall couldn't deny the way that he felt when he saw Harry kissing that redheaded girl at the drive in or when he saw the Thunderbird rocking back and forth as he drove out. He couldn't deny how he felt when he saw Harry groping at Stacy or innocently touching Andrew. But he had to, he just had to. He loved his mother, he loved his father. He was going to become a doctor and have a little family and grow old with his wife to see his own grandchildren, he just had to. But every night when he tried to dream of that, he only saw two men sitting alone, gingerly holding hands and the years of ridicule, cruelty and isolation showing on both of their faces.

Niall didn't want a future like that.

Niall got out of the bed, slipping on some clean underwear and walking lazily over to the dresser to grab a clean pair of clothes to change into for the day. There was a gentle knock and he sighed. "Come in," Niall said softly and the white door pressed open, his mother walking in with a basket of clean clothes.

"Morning, sweetheart," she said with a smile, giving him a lipstick covered kiss on the cheek and Niall smiled. "Breakfast is already done if you want to go and get some and guess what?"

"What?"

"Mrs. Palvin is coming over... and Barbara is too," she said with a little bit of a teasing smile and Niall had to force himself to keep the smile on his face. That was another thing Niall was guilty about, lying to Barbara and leading her on like this. Niall had to admit that she was a pretty fun girl to be around, far too sexually promiscuous for his own good though. Every time they saw each other, the girl wouldn't shy away from a flirty comment, a suggestive wink, a sexual lick of her glossy lips and hiking her dress a little higher to show off feminine curves. Mrs. Horan set the basket down by the dresser, taking her hands and fingers going up to brush through Niall's hair. "Be ready in about an hour, okay?"

"Okay, mother."

She smiled, giving another kiss to his cheek and walked out of the bedroom and Niall sighed, flopping back onto the bed and closing his eyes. He wasn't really that hungry, he just wanted to lie down and go back to sleep. It was another Saturday morning and the show wasn't due for another taping until next week, when Harry and Liam would see if they would remain permanent on the show. He figured that they would, girls were coming up to him all of this week asking about the two. Asking if Harry was interested in any girls yet or what was his idea of a dream girl. Niall could answer that one, slutty and willing to drop their underwear from a simple glance.

That pretty much summed up the girls that asked the question in the first place.

Harry's type of girl.

And Niall wasn't going to be like that.

He felt himself going into slumber, dreaming about a house that was situated in the country where Niall always wanted to go and he smiled a bit. He was walking through the home and looked at the blank frames and empty portraits that was waiting to display Niall's future when he paused by a door, hearing light moans coming from inside. He felt his face growing hot and he cautiously opened the door, eyes widening when he saw a bed with sheets fluttering wild and a head poked up.

Harry.

The brunette smiled, toothpick between his lips and hair mused wild from the activities with whoever was in the bed with him and Niall felt himself growing sick once more.

"Join us?" Harry asked and Niall shook his head, mouth opening to protest when he saw another head reemerge from the sheets and the blonde's eyes widened even more with shock and slight arousal. Harry was in the bed... with himself. Or better yet, another Harry, hair done neatly like the show and giving him little winks. Niall felt it again, his heart beginning to beat fast and trousers tightening, trying to back away from the tempting scene and only bumping into something. He turned and his jaw dropped.

Another Harry? Only this one was younger... 15... the age that Harry took his virginity. The skinnier boy smiled, pushing Niall towards the bed and feeling the hands of the other two pulling him in.

"Don't resist me, Niall," one breathed in his ear.

"You love me too, don't you Niall?" one asked, moving to slip his hand down Niall's shirt and run fingers along his chest.

"I want you, Niall. Make love to me, Niall," one moaned, a hand moving to palm Niall through his pants and Niall moaned, the three of them trying to remove the clothing and licking at Niall's lips begging for entrance. Niall's eyes fluttered, feeling his pants sliding off and lips and tongue pressing roughly against his erection. He looked down, seeing the younger Harry and the dressy Harry licking and mouthing at the outline of his cock while the other Harry spat out the toothpick to kiss and suck at Niall's suddenly bare shoulder. The two that were pleasuring him looked up, two sets of green eyes filled with lust as one of them yanked down the underwear and began to fight with each other, tongues darting out to lick along the length and make Niall moan loudly.

"Do you like this, Niall?"

"Do you want me, Niall?"

"Moan for me again, Niall," the one that sucked on his shoulder breathed in his ear, raising his fingers to suck on them and coat with his saliva before plunging the digits into Niall's entrance. Niall's eyes widened, loud moan escaping his lips that only grew louder as a warm heat engulfed his erection, eyes straining to see a brunette head bobbing up and down with another one trying to give kitten licks along the shaft. Niall's chest rose and fallen, feeling the two tongues and the fingers working and thrusting inside of him and he let out a weak whine, feeling Harry's fingers brushing and rubbing against his prostate as he curled and scissored him. He felt that feeling bubbling in his stomach and he closed his eyes as the Harry that was sucking on the tip of Niall's erection pulled off with an audible pop.

One of the Harry got on their hands and knees, sticking their bottom out for Niall to see a perfect view of the puckered hole. He looked over his shoulder, smiling flirtatiously.

"Take me, Niall. Make love to me, slow and long," Harry moaned, cheeks so flushed and red that made Niall's cock throb in anticipation. He licked his lips, moving over to run a hand over the soft skin and grabbed hold of the hips, the brunette giving a soft moan as the tip of Niall's member began to ease into Harry's entrance. Niall's eyes fluttered as he felt Harry's passage squeeze around him, a moan slipping from both of their lips as he was fully sheathed in the beautiful boy, Niall's pale hand going up to run through the perfectly combed hair and slightly ruffle it. Then Niall's eyes widened, feeling something prodding and easing into his own entrance and hands grabbing onto his waist.

"Feel that, Niall?" one of the Harry breathed in his ear, snapping his hips back to give a small thrust that made Niall thrust into the Harry on his knees and he gasped. He thrust into him again and the same thing repeated, the three of them beginning to gain a steady rhythm of Harry pounding into Niall pounding into another Harry, each of them groaning and panting out. Niall never felt something like this, feeling so stretched on one hand from the thrusting and moaning boy behind him and feeling something squeezing and hugging his length so intimately from the gasping and writhing boy below him. It felt so exotic, so completely sensual and erotic that Niall licked his lips and bucked his hips in speed at the feeling coursing through his veins. Niall started slamming into the boy harder, feeling a set of lips from the younger Harry roughly kissing him and trying to tear away his attention. Niall's mind was swirling, his heart was pumping and he felt so at bliss and he threw his head back.

"Niall~so g-good, h-harder, ngh, h-harder."

"So tight, so tight. Ah~ N-Niall~"

"Love me, Niall. Love me, Niall."

Niall.

N-Niall~

Ah~ N-Niall!

And with that, Niall released into the warm bucking hand, a loud moan escaping his lips at the wet fantasy and fingers buried deep inside of himself curling as his back arched off of the bed. He lied there on the mattress, feeling his semen sliding between his fingers and his palm growing sticky as his chest let out slow and shuddered breaths. The door opened and Niall quickly removed his hands from out of his underwear to sit up straight and see his mother looking at him concerned.

"Sweetie, aren't you coming down for breakfast?"  
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In the Horans backyard, there was a large oak tree that held a homemade swing that hasn't been used in about thirteen years. The rope was weak and the wood was creaked and old and no one sat on it or even touched it. But yet, the swing still remained to serve as a reminder and Barbara Palvin was staring at it with a playful smile. Niall was standing beside her, hands in his pocket and looking at the green grass instead of the girl that was gently tugging at his arm.

"Can you push me?" Barbara asked, pointing over at the swing and Niall's eyes widened before growing stern.

"... No," he said softly and she frowned. He stuttered, "I-It's old and it might break anyways."

"Come on, you can just give me a little push and-"

"I said no!" Niall shouted and the girl twisted her lips, crossing her arms in a huff.

"Well sorry. If you're going to get that worked up over a swing, then I won't ask about it anymore," Barbara said in an annoyed tone, moving to sit down on the grass underneath the shade of the giant oak. Niall's lips curled in annoyance and then he sighed, moving to sit down beside her and pull his knees up close to his chest. The two remained silent, their mothers probably talking and gossiping up a storm inside the cozy little kitchen and Barbara gave Niall a small nudge, "You know, the girls at school always talk about-"

"Harry and Liam. Yeah, I know," Niall interrupted and she pouted.

"... Harry... he isn't that same guy that we saw at the drive-in, right? The one that looked like a greaser?"

"Yeah, that's him," Niall muffled and the girl's eyes widened.

"How did he get on the show? Especially with how he was acting with that girl!"

"He can sing. And he can dance and act decent for the thirty minutes we're on. So, the producer decided that he can stay," Niall replied. And Harry probably will be staying until the show either switches out the cast for some younger kids or the show just ends. Niall sighed, he didn't really have that much time left on the show anyways. Just something to do before he has (or better yet forced) to go to college. Barbara sighed, leaning back on her hands and the brown curls falling off of her shoulder.

"... Does he have a girlfriend?"

"He thinks you're a whore," Niall muttered and Barbara frowned.

"How could he even think that when I never even met him?"

"You slept with some of his friends, that's why."

The girl blushed red, giving Niall a glare. "If you tell my parents about that-"

"I won't... you'll probably get pregnant and the truth will come out that way."

A hand slapped against Niall's cheek and the boy hissed, rubbing the tender skin as the girl stood up and gritted her teeth.

"How dare you say that! Niall Horan, I never want to see you again!" she cried out and Niall groaned.

"Stop that, stop being so over dramatic."

"I am not!"

"What do I have to do to make you stop screaming? Before my mother comes out?"

"... A kiss?" she asked with a sly smile and Niall felt his stomach do a little flop. The last time he kissed Barbara was when he was 15 and she was 16, behind the gym and Barbara wanting to go for a one night stand. But Niall couldn't enjoy the kiss all due to a certain greaser that kissed him a couple weeks before. And ever since they have 'gotten together', Barbara has been trying to sneak in a kiss that Niall would modestly turn away from. Maybe because he didn't want to kiss the girl at all, he wanted to kiss a boy.

Not just any boy, he wanted to kiss Harry.

He wanted to feel Harry wrapping arms around him and smell that scent of cinnamon on his skin.

He wanted to make love to Harry and this time in the intimacy of a bed instead of an alleyway.

... No. Niall couldn't want that. He couldn't want another male. He needed a girl. He needed a loving wife and mother of future children. He needed to have a future that wouldn't be overturned because of a boy that probably didn't care about him or love him anymore, only trying to mess with his head and make Niall more confused, more afraid of disappointment, more deceptive and a liar to his parents about how he really felt and who he was feeling those enamored feelings for, more hate and self-loathing that he wasn't perfect. He was tainting the views of a perfect suburban boy living in the USA, he was supposed to be throwing around a football and be the dream of every girl he passed by. Instead, he was masturbating to homoerotic dreams and ignoring girls that gave him winks and flirty giggles at his jokes. All because he couldn't stop thinking about Harry.

This needed to stop.

Niall swallowed a breath, leaning forward and gently pressed his lips against Barbara's, the sweet taste of lemonade and cake on her lips and she smiled, gently licking along Niall's bottom lip to ask for entrance. Niall was sweating and his lips slowly parted, the eager tongue darting into his mouth and rolling around his own in fluid motions and tasting every bit of the boy's nervous mouth. A door creaked open and Niall pulled away, Barbara looking still unsatisfied but then giving a nervous smile as she saw the two women looking over at them with little smiles of their own.

"How sweet, young love. Barbara, sweetie, we're getting ready to leave now," Mrs. Palvin said softly and her daughter nodded, moving over to give Niall a kiss on the cheek and waving goodbye before following her mother out of the house. Mrs. Horan beckoned her son inside the room, the two of them walking into the living room and his mother placing a loving hand on his knee.

"Niall, is there something that you want to tell me? Like your feelings? Are you feeling something... sexual about her? Because-"

"No, I'm not."

"Are you sure? Because I want you to come to me about things like this. I don't want you listening to what your friends might say, it is perfectly fine to wait until you both are married before you even think about anything sexual-"

"Mother please. I'm not thinking about anything like that, honestly."

Or at least, he wasn't thinking about anything like that with Barbara.

Niall's mother smiled and raised her hand to give Niall's cheek a soft pat.

"My little baby is growing up... Greg would have been so proud of you. Seeing his little brother with a girl and getting ready to go off to school and start a living..." she bit her lip, the memory of her eldest son flowing back and Niall wrapped arms around her tightly.

"I know, I know... I'll make all of you proud," he muttered, feeling his mother nod her head and sniffle a bit. Her son released his grip on her and she sighed, wiping her eyes and patting his leg.

"I made some soup for you to take over to the Styles. Mr. Styles is feeling a bit under the weather and I figured it might help. Also, give Mrs. Styles the recipe," his mother said with a small smile and Niall gulped. Half of him didn't want to do it, he didn't want to set foot inside of the home and risk being seen by Harry. But at the same time, he wanted to see the boy's face. Sure, it's only been a week since he last seen the brunette... maybe if he seen him again, he wouldn't have any more dreams about him.

Niall nodded his head, walking into the kitchen to grab the small container of soup sitting on the counter and he bit his lip, grabbing the keys off of the counter and heading out to his car. His heart was beating and his head was thumping as he slowly pulled out of the driveway, mind still debating and racking on what he should do. Should he just tell Harry to leave him alone? Harry really wasn't bothering him, he was just messing around with other people and it just made Niall mad. Why was Niall mad? It's not like Harry and him were going steady or high school sweethearts. No, the two teens were just dancing on a show together, they didn't have any more romantic ties left. And anything that was romantic was left behind. Harry moved on to other people, so should Niall. How pathetic would it be for him to pine over someone that clearly was seeing other people?

Then again, sometimes Niall figured himself to be pretty pathetic.

Those moments of jealousy were some of those times.

Niall's car turned onto the street, slowly pulling up to the first house on the corner and his heart seemed to beat even faster as the engine died down with the turn of the key. He didn't need to stay, he just needed to hand the bowl over to whoever opened the door. He didn't even need to step inside the abode, just stand in the doorway... but what if Harry opened the door? What if the parents weren't home and it was only the two of them? Would Harry try to do something? Would Harry pull Niall in? Would Harry strip Niall and proceed to kiss him, moan in his ear, bite at his skin, say that he wanted Niall and noone else but Niall?

Now the boy felt his pants beginning to tighten and he just hoped it wouldn't be Mrs. Styles answering the door and spotting the bulge in his gray slacks. He dragged his feet, the warm bowl of soup slightly trembling in his hands as he approached the door. He gulped, raising a shaking fist to give it a knock and the sound echoed in Niall's ears. He waited for what felt like hours when it only felt like minutes before the door slowly creaked open and he closed his eyes in fear of who was behind it.

"Niall? Why, hello there, sweetheart. How can I help you?" a gentle woman's voice asked instead of the sensual and soft voice belonging to Harry and Niall let out both a sigh of relief and a sigh of disappointment. He held out the bowl of soup, slightly blushing.

"My mother made some soup for Mr. Styles so he could get better," Niall replied and Mrs. Styles smiled, taking the offering. Niall rocked on his heels for a couple of seconds, biting his lower lip, "Is, uh... is Harry home?"

"Oh no, sweetie. You just missed him, he went out to the drive in with some friends," the woman sighed, "Honestly, it seems like they go to a movie almost every night. They probably seen every movie they have."

Oh, if only Mrs. Styles knew what Harry and his friends really do at drive-ins.

Niall let out a weak laugh and she tilted her head to the side, "I could tell him that you stopped by and maybe he can give you a call-"

"N-No, it's alright. I'll be going now, goodbye," Niall said quickly and Harry's mother nodded, gently closing the door and Niall briskly walked back to his car, sliding into the driver seat and feeling his heart beginning to grow a little heavy. He wasn't upset about not seeing Harry. No, he wasn't upset that Harry is probably at the drive in right now with a nude girl in his lap or between his legs. No, he wasn't upset that Harry was spending time with someone else. Niall wasn't dating Harry. Niall wasn't in a relationship with Harry. Niall shouldn't be jealous about anything that Harry was doing right now.

Niall shouldn't be in his bed, hand down his pants and small whimpers coming from his lips at the wet dream he was experiencing about the greaser and how he was in the car at the drive in and kissing Harry.

He shouldn't be this hopelessly pathetic.


	7. The Next Marlon Brando

On the rarest of days, Harry decided to actually go to school when he left his home instead of going to the bar and strip joint. And as he walked down the hall that seemed to part like the seas did for Moses, Harry figured he should go to school a lot more often. Freshmen girls were already interested in him due to the fact that he was everything that their fathers and mothers would protest against and simply wanted to let out that rebellious and naïve spirit by having him as their boyfriend. Now, they were actually approaching him, sticking out their chests and batting their eyes. Harry just smiled and waved them off, maybe later he could see about them. He wasn't that much into freshmen girls anyways, felt like he was being a cradle robber. Didn't stop the girls from leaving him many notes with phone numbers in his locker during passing periods.

The teachers, however, treated Harry with the normal behavior which was a senior that somehow was still graduating even though he barely was in school. School was always a bore to Harry, subjects that just was a drag to listen about. He wasn't even planning on doing anything like that, he was planning on being an actor. He was going to be the next Marlon Brando and all the girls would be lining up to see him. And of course, he'll have a male mistress on the side if they keep their mouths shut about the relationship. Which they will, no one wanted to be outed as a homosexual when so many people looked up to you and wanted to be you.

Maybe Harry did understand what Niall was feeling after all.

The bell rang and Harry smirked, time for lunch. The greaser stuck his hand into his pocket, fingers wrapping around the pack of cigarettes and trying to slip one out until he accidentally bumped into someone. He scowled, "Hey, watch where you're going!"

"I-I'm sorry I... Harry?"

"... Andrew?" Harry questioned and the boy smiled shyly and Harry cocked his head, "Wow, didn't recognize you without the glasses... you do look cuter without them."

"Thank you," Andrew said with a smile and then looked over his shoulder, "Say, Jett and Jenny go here too. Do you want to eat lunch with us and maybe get to know each other?"

"Ha, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're flirting with me," Harry said with a slight smirk, trying to see if he could trip the boy up. Andrew has been talking more with Liam lately and every time rehearsals were done, he'd offer to walk Liam home. But the boy could just be friendly, then again, friendly or not, he should have some reaction to Harry's comments. He shrugged.

"I don't think I'm flirting with you. To be honest, I'm interested in someone else, not that you're not handsome, just... not really my type," Andrew replied and Harry quirked an eyebrow. Yeah, a type. Harry shrugged his arms, jutting a thumb out behind him.

"Actually, I'm going to hang out with my friends. But I'll think about it," Harry replied and the boy nodded, giving a small wave goodbye and heading down the hall. Harry continued to walk in his own direction, spotting two of his friends off to the side and mumbling with each other before Harry arrived. "Hey you two, anything new while I was gone?"

"Nah, a couple of girls asking for you here and there. Some freshmen wants to be 'friends' with us now just cause you're on the television. Pretty stupid if you ask me," one of them grunted out and Harry rolled his eyes.

"How about Louis? Is he here today?"

"Yeah, went to get some food... say, what's up with him anyways? He's actin' kind of funny."

"Like how?"

"Every time that kid from the show walks by the hangout, he gets all antsy and stuff. Did he do something?"

Harry rolled his eyes, Louis was acting up over Liam again. The boy just wasn't bothering to be with Louis anymore, preferring Andrew walking him home than Louis. And the greaser was slowly beginning to drive himself nuts over it. Harry tried to talk to Louis, try to tell Louis that all he had to do was just confess how he really felt about Liam to the younger boy and maybe give a little bit more public displays of affection. Harry wasn't afraid to kiss a boy at the drive-in or by the large oak tree at the park, neither should Louis. Harry just shrugged at his friend's question, seeing Louis approaching them now with apple in hand.

"So Mr. Hollywood decided to join us?" Louis asked bitterly and Harry frowned.

"Just because you can't get in someone's pants doesn't mean you can act like a dick towards me," Harry snapped and Louis blushed, taking a bite of the apple and glaring at Harry. Louis was about to open his mouth to lash out something else but then the blue eyes spotted something behind Harry and the brunette turned, seeing that Andrew was waving over at him from afar. Louis' glare intensified. "So you're friends with him now?"

"Yeah, he's a pretty nice guy, doesn't act like a moron about his feelings," Harry replied, turning around to wave back but Louis spun him back around.

"Hey, watch what you say around me."

"Or what? You don't have anything over me that I can't counter with something I have over you," Harry replied, turning back around but Louis yanked him back to face him. "You do that one more time and I'm going to punch you."

"Don't act like you're better than me."

"I'm not Louis, but we really need to talk about this. I can help you if you're confused-"

"I'm not confused! Stop treating me like I'm a damn charity case!" Louis yelled, anger getting the best of him and chucking the apple in Harry's direction. Harry dodged the half eaten fruit and watched as the shorter boy stormed off in another direction far away from Harry and the brunette sighed. He was just so stubborn. Harry rolled his eyes and turned to his two friends.

"Go and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Harry mumbled and the two greasers nodded, running off in the direction that Louis left while Harry went to sit by the water fountain. Only a couple more hours anyways and it'll be time to go to the studio for another show. And there, he didn't have to hear about his friend's fussing and confusing relationship. Just the sounds of the music, girls chatting at him, Liam and Andrew's ongoing conversations and Niall's nervous babble.  
______________________________________________________________________________

"H-Hey Harry, can you go find N-Niall?" Todd stuttered out to him, the boy clearly intimidated by the way Harry carried himself. Harry shrugged, walking away from his conversation with Stacy to head in the direction of Niall's dressing room. Niall had been hiding in his dressing room for maybe a couple of minutes, Harry sending the brunette a little sly look that made Niall blush and storm off of the stage. Didn't seem like such a big deal to Harry, Harry always flirted and dressed his finest to make the brunette boy think about him. He didn't want another thought coming across the boy's mind other than him and as he walked down the hall and gently pushed open the door, he felt himself twinging a bit with excitement as to what he might find.

Niall was huddled in a corner, light whimpers coming from his throat and Harry slowly approached the trembling figure, trying to remain as quiet as possible. It wasn't long until he was a few inches away that he heard a name flow past Niall's lips in a breathy sigh.

"Harry~" Niall huskily moaned and Harry's eyes widened, seeing how Niall's shoulders were shaking and his arm was jutting up and down with hand dived between his legs. Harry licked his lips, crouching down beside the boy, Niall far too in lust to notice Harry's presence.

"Niall~" Harry whispered in his ear and Niall, believing it was part of the fantasy, smiled lightly and gripped at his erection harder. "Mm, you look so good, Niall~ Do you want me? Do you want me bad enough to bend over for me?" Harry whispered, tongue licking around the shell of Niall's ear with hand daring to shoot in between Niall's legs and skilled fingers wrapping around the length to give a rough tug. At this, Niall's eyes shot open and he gasped, trying to suppress a scream and trying to push Harry away.

"D-Don't! What are you doing!" Niall hissed and Harry shrugged. Todd's stutter must be contagious and Harry quickened the strokes, thumb running around the tip and catching the drops of pre-cum that beaded and dripped. Niall writhed under his touch, face growing incredibly flushed.

"I'm giving you what you want," Harry whispered.

"N-No, please Harry, don't do this when we need to go out," Niall pleaded.

"I'm helping you understand. You're confused and I'm helping you."

"No you're not! You're making things worse! Please, st-stop~" Niall moaned, his dick throbbing in Harry's warm hand and eyes fluttering at the sensual touch. Harry rested a hand on his shoulder, breathing deeply along with Niall's shallow breaths.

"You want me, Niall. You want me and I want you, don't you see it? Why are you trying to deny me?"

"Because you want me for all the wrong reasons! You, you just want someone to sleep with, i-it isn't real," Niall stuttered out.

"Real? What do you think is real when you probably never been in a relationship other than me? In case you haven't noticed, love isn't like the movies or the TV shows," Harry replied and Niall shuddered a breath from a particularly strong squeeze.

"I don't want this love then, I w-want a girl. I want-"

"You want to feel normal," Harry said darkly and the hand stopped pleasuring the other boy. For heaven's sake, he wasn't a freak because he liked boys. He wasn't some alien and he wasn't some monster. He was a human being that just appreciated both genders, it didn't make him weird. It made him special. Why couldn't Niall see that he and Harry were special? Niall's breath grew normal and he pulled Harry's hand off of the still throbbing anatomy, trying to cover himself in embarrassment.

"I want to be appropriate and professional."

"What, you want to lie to yourself? Lie to everyone? What the hell is stopping you from just admitting that you like me, Niall? What is it? Your parents? They aren't going to be here forever, who cares what they think!" Harry hissed and Niall frowned, quickly tucking himself back in and buttoning up his trousers.

"I care about what they think! They're my parents and I want to do right by them!"

"Bullshit, if you really wanted to do right by them, you wouldn't have tried so hard to see me three years ago. You wouldn't be jerking off to me in your dressing room. You would be the good little boy and try to stay far away from me as possible. Why are you still here then? Why are you just tempting yourself?" Harry asked, hand going to rub Niall through his pants, "You want me Niall and I want you. Let's stop this and just give in. I know that you want to do it," Harry mumbled into Niall's soft skin, groping harder and a strangled whine coming from his lips. Niall's eyes scrunched tight and his nose wrinkled, hips bucking up and moan going deep into his throat as the front of the beige pants grew wet with his seed and sweat trickled down his forehead. The boy panted for a couple of moments and Harry licked at his flushed neck. "You want me, Niall. You want me so bad."

Niall didn't say anything, his breath regaining its normal pace.

"I might want you... but I can never love you... no matter what you say or do... I just can't, I can't," Niall whimpered and it was the first time that Harry ever heard the boy sound so hurt and in pain. He put a hand on Niall's shoulder and he moved away, grabbing his coat to cover himself and running out of the room.

Niall didn't appear on the show that day, telling the host that he was sick to his stomach.


	8. Someone Like Me

"Here's the popcorn," Andrew said softly to Liam, climbing up onto the hood of the Chevy and handing the buttery snack to the boy sitting down. Liam smiled, taking it and fingers diving down inside to pick a couple of pieces to pop into his mouth. He never gets the chance to go to the drive-in often, partially because his family doesn't own a car or have enough money to be throwing it away on something like that. No, Liam's family was filled with hard workers that took care of each other. Any money went to food, clothes, the necessities of living. And if they were lucky, they would do a little splurging. But it was nice that Andrew invited him out, he hadn't heard of any good movies that were coming out but the way that the boy was talking so excitedly about this one, it must be pretty good.

The movie didn't start yet, on the large screen another boring newsreel that Liam always rolled his eyes at. He liked the cartoon segments that would come on the screen, seeing the Looney Tunes or Goofy instead of someone repeating off events that he already knew about. Andrew sat beside Liam, hand going into the popcorn box to take some pieces for himself.

"This is going to be a real good movie, just you wait. I read the book and everything," Andrew said with a bright smile that Liam nervously smiled back. They were going to see a horror movie, what was it again?... The Bad Seed? Yes, that sounded right. Liam didn't like scary movies, but he didn't know what else was playing, so he decided to suck it up and watch. It couldn't be that bad, right? ... Hopefully...

Liam took another kernel to place in his mouth as another newsreel played. Andrew scooted in a bit closer, little bit of a blush dusting across his nose in the cold night air. "Um... are you having a good time?" the brunette asked and Liam shook his head, smiling sweetly.

"Yeah, I mean, I never get to go to the drive-in. So thanks for taking me," Liam replied with a smile. Hmm, the last time that he went to the drive-in was... with Louis. The popcorn piece that Liam had in his hand fell down as he remembered the greaser. He hadn't really talked to Louis in a long time, mostly spending time with Andrew and he began to feel a bit guilty about it. Sure, Louis may be all tough and stubborn but Liam knew there was a nice side buried deep, deep, deep down. A side that was gentle and caring and loved Liam very much, but Liam would only see a sliver of that side and would always see the abrasive, headstrong and closeted side Louis would always portray. It hurt Liam a bit, was he not good enough? He really didn't know what went on in Louis' mind whenever they kissed, disgust? Fear? Pity? His eyes scanned the crowds and groups of people, seeing a cluster of greasers far off in the distance and not really able to point out Louis' head in the mix and let out a small sigh. Andrew looked over at him.

"Something wrong? Out of popcorn? I-I'll go get some more," Andrew quickly said.

"No, no. I'm fine... just thinking about someone," Liam said softly and the two boys were quiet for a split second, the sounds of car horns and shouting teens filling their ears.

"... Someone that you like?" Andrew asked and Liam tilted his head from side to side.

"Kind of... but I don't really think they like me back."

"Why not?"

"Just... I always kiss them and hug them, but they never want to hug me back... or at least where anyone else could see us... and sometimes I think that they don't like me... that they wouldn't want to be with someone like me..."

Andrew leaned back a bit, thick-rimmed glasses slipping down the freckled nose, "You're perfect just the way that you are... well, I know if I had a significant other like you, I would want to kiss them all the time," he commented and Liam looked over at the boy, taking in the still blushing face, freckles, and the shy blue eyes. Then Liam's eyes traveled down Andrew's exposed neck, spotting a purplish bruise by his Adam's Apple and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have a girlfriend?" Liam asked and the boy shook his head no. Liam continued to stare at the bruise, well, if he doesn't have a girlfriend, then where did he get the love bite? Andrew squirmed a bit under the boy's stare and a hand went up to cover his neck.

"I-Is there something wrong?"

"... Where did you get that bruise?" Liam asked.

"Oh, I uh... I... I can't tell you," he said quietly and Liam frowned, crossing his arms and his lower lip jutting out into a pout.

"Not fair. I tell you almost everything about me, how come I don't know that much about you?"

"Not much to know about me."

"That bruise is something. If you don't have a girlfriend, where'd you get that bruise?" Liam repeated and Andrew sighed a bit, sitting up and hugging his knees.

"... From my dad..." Andrew said quietly and Liam's eyes widened.

"Your dad... molests you?"

"N-No, he doesn't do anything like that. He thinks that's disgusting... Liam, I-I hope this doesn't affect our friendship or anything like that but... I-I'm a homosexual," Andrew mumbled out and Liam blushed at the confession. Another silence came between the two and it was clear that Andrew was growing nervous over saying that and he raised his hands, "I'm sorry, I'm very sorry for making this awkward. I-I'll take you home right now and I won't walk you home or talk to you ever again if you want. I-"

"It's alright," Liam spoke up, blush still on his cheeks, "... If it makes you feel better, I'm one too."

Andrew blushed darker at this, Liam for sure the teen was going to eventually match the shade of the car they were sitting on. The boy leaned forward, fingers delicately touching the bruised skin. "Your father... did this?"

"Y-Yeah, he did... my parents know that I like boys... my mother wants to put me in a mental institution so I can get some help but my father doesn't want to pay for it... so he thinks he can beat the homosexuality out of me," Andrew mumbled and Liam's eyes widened. That was horrible. And it made Liam even more afraid of what should happen if he told his parents that he had kissed a boy and even offered his body to one. Would they abuse him too? Andrew pulled Liam's hand away from his throat, the movie screen changing to finally show the opening credits of the movie. But now, that was the last thing on Liam's mind right now.

"... When did he do that?"

"About a week ago, maybe. He caught a boy trying to hold my hand and choked me... he only does it when my mother isn't around to stop him... then again, I don't think she would even if she was there... I'm sorry, let's not talk about my problems," he said with a small smile, "let's just watch the movie."

Liam gave a slow nod, turning his head to see a woman handing a little girl with blonde pigtails a present. But Liam wasn't even registering what was going on in the film, just thinking about the boy who was still eating popcorn nervously. Andrew was gay, now it all made sense why the brunette payed Liam so much attention. That was why Andrew always walked Liam home and why he always talked to him and even why he took Liam out to the drive-in... was this supposed to be a date? ...Liam never really been on a date before. Sure, he went to places with Louis, but they were more considered outings than dates, especially since they never did anything romantic. But the way that he and Andrew were now, Liam now noticing they were very closely huddled together on the hood of the car and eating from the same popcorn container, it sure felt like a date. He felt his heart racing a bit, not really knowing what to do. Half of him didn't want this to be a date, he still liked Louis and he still wanted to give the greaser a chance. The other half desperately wanted this to be a date, he wanted affection and comfort.

He would like a kiss and not be pushed away like Louis always would do.

Now the little girl was talking with her mother about some medal and Liam bit his lip, nervously turning to look at Andrew.

"Um... Andrew?"

The brunette slightly jumped at his name.

"Yeah?"

"...Do you... like me?" Liam asked quietly and Andrew bit his lip in slight nerves, a hand going up to push the glasses that were slipping down his nose.

"I... yeah, I do... but you like someone else so... um... "

"And if you were my boyfriend," Liam shivered at the word that felt so good to roll off of his tongue and he so desired to call and be called, "you would kiss me all the time?"

"... Yeah... " Andrew said shyly, sitting up a bit, "I mean, you're really cute and really nice. Who wouldn't want to kiss you all the time?"

Louis.

Liam gulped, he didn't expect the boy to say something like that. He didn't expect his mind to ponder the statement. He really didn't want to say that he liked the idea of being kissed and hugged and just plain cared about by the person that was sitting next to him if they should offer it. That would hurt Louis' feelings and Liam still liked Louis... but Louis just didn't show affection like that... Louis didn't want to show affection like that. The car shifted a bit and he glanced up, seeing Andrew taking off his glasses to clean the fog off of them in slight embarrassment and Liam cocked his head.

"... You look really nice without your glasses," Liam said quietly and the brunette looked over at him.

"... Really?"

"... Yeah... really... "

They seemed closer than they were before, arms pressing against each other and legs starting to get tangled. Liam could smell a scent of some cologne that the teen must have spritzed himself with for Liam... Louis never made sure he smelled nice for Liam. Louis always smelled of musk and cigarettes, Andrew smelled like lemons and peppermint. A cool and breezy scent that made Liam's nostrils flair as the scent grew closer and closer. Andrew's breath was warm, ghosting over his nose and lips with the scent of buttery popcorn still lingering as the distance between the faces was closed. Liam's eyes fluttered a bit, the new sensation of someone other than Louis kissing him taking over his body and a hand went to cup the brunette's warm cheek. The touch must have gave Andrew confidence, since Liam felt a hand creep up his back and another around his waist to pull him in closer, the lips meshing softly and gentle almost as if Andrew was afraid of breaking Liam... Louis always kissed rough and sucked hard enough on Liam's lips to draw blood and make them swollen. Kissing Andrew was a definite difference from kissing Louis.

And Liam hated it that he preferred kissing the former over the latter.

The boys separated, slow breaths and faces flushed as Liam's heart began to pick up in speed. They kissed. They kissed in public. Where wandering eyes could see them and Andrew wasn't in the slightest nervous? Andrew gave his lips a little lick, probably tasting the other boy and his eyes flickered over to look in his car.

"It's... kind of cold out here, do you want to continue in the car?" Andrew said and then bit his lip, nervous blush appearing. Liam didn't know if he meant continue watching the movie or continue kissing... he was hoping he meant kissing. Liam just nodded, sliding off of the hood and getting into the backseat of the car with Andrew getting in a couple of seconds later. Liam knew the boy was nervous, he was nervous too. But... he really wanted to kiss again. It wasn't like all the cars around them were watching the movie, some of the cars rocking like an earthquake was going on while some cars were sitting peacefully. They wouldn't be disturbing anyone... really... 

"Um... good movie so far," Andrew said rather dumbly, trying slip his glasses back on but Liam grabbed his hand.

"Leave them off," Liam whispered.

"But I can't see the movie clearly without them," Andrew said quietly. What was there to see in the film? Nothing real important that they couldn't hear from someone else, right? Liam gently took the glasses and settled them in the front seat.

"You can see me, right?" Liam asked and Andrew nodded. Liam smiled a bit, crawling over until he was sitting on the teen's lap, Andrew's hands moving to hold Liam' waist. The brunette looked up at the boy, eyes wide as he felt Liam gently threading fingers through his hair. He gulped, "Um, Liam, we're not... are we... I... "

Liam placed a finger to his lips, giving a mischievous wink and playful smile. He removed the finger and replaced it with his mouth, lips eagerly kissing the boy beneath him that gripped his hips tightly. Yes, this was different from kissing Louis, there was more want and love in each little movement and grasp, Liam's tongue poking out and slipping into the blue-eyed boy's mouth. He even tasted different, Louis tasted like cigarettes, Andrew tasted like popcorn. Then again, he just ate some popcorn so he probably doesn't always tasted like that. Louis always tasted like cigarettes though.

Liam's hands gripped tighter in the brown locks, little moans erupting from his throat that Andrew swallowed and echoed back into Liam's mouth. It felt so good, it felt so different. One moment Liam was straddling Andrew's waist and the next moment, Liam was lying flat on his back, Andrew climbing over him to kiss him deeply. They weren't going to go all the way, no. Just a little kissing, that was all. But the way that Liam felt the hands touch him so softly made Liam's mind very picky at where he wanted to stop. He didn't want to stop when he felt Andrew kiss his neck. He didn't want to stop when Andrew was kissing his bare chest with the shirt tossed onto the floor. He didn't want to stop when he felt Andrew lowering his hips, the brushing of both of their erections sending fire down Liam's spine.

He didn't want any of this to ever stop.

But it did.

Liam didn't know what happened. The car door swung open (Liam must have forgot to lock it) and a leather clad arm jutted inside, a hand grabbing onto Andrew's still clothed body and yanking the brunette out of the car. Liam screamed, grabbing his jacket and buttoning a couple buttons and climbed out with eyes wide at the scene before him. Louis Tomlinson was on top of Andrew, fist slamming into the brunette's face multiple of times with some of the greasers trying to pull Louis off of the defenseless boy.

"Don't you ever fucking touch him, you fag!" Louis screamed at the top of his lungs, fist growing bloodied from Andrew's broken nose and split lip and Liam screamed again. He ran over, grabbing onto Louis and trying his hardest to pull the greaser off and Louis swung around, a fist swinging out and hitting Liam in the jaw. The boy stumbled back and Louis stared with wide eyes at the boy on the ground behind him. "L-Liam! I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Louis' apology was cut from an angry fist swinging to hit him square in the nose. The greasers crowded their fallen friend, glaring at the Latino.

"You wanna fight? You're gonna get one!" one of them hissed out but Louis pushed them away, looking at Liam with a hurt expression. People were rushing over, trying to help the battered boy onto his feet and Louis frowned.

"You didn't think I saw what you two were doing on his car?" Louis snapped and Liam frowned, a light blush dusting across his nose. Guess Louis was in that crowd of greasers after all.

"Why do you care what we were doing! You never care about what I want do to do!"

"Yes I do!"

"You sure don't show it!"

"What, he's better than me or something?"

"He's nicer and more caring than you are!"

"... What are we talking about here?" one of the greasers questioned and Liam looked at Louis, dead expression in his eyes.

"Are you going to tell them?" he asked and Louis stared. "... Didn't think so."

With that, Liam turned and helped carry Andrew off while someone dialed paramedics, hearing Louis screaming at him to turn around, to come back, to don't walk away from him. Liam never did turn back, what was the point?

There wasn't a relationship to walk away from in the first place.


	9. Are You Lonesome Tonight?

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" Harry shouted, hand gripping on the bag of food meant for delivery to the residence of the Horans. He slammed the door on his mother's voice and with a slight grumble muttered, "Get off your tits once in while, sheesh."

He tossed the bag into the passenger seat of the Thunderbird, climbing into the driver's seat and starting the ignition and beginning to pull out of the driveway and down the street. He wasn't a delivery boy, he had better things to do than to deliver some finger foods. Like getting into Stacy's panties for the third time this week. Ha, not that kind of girl. Or maybe he could just confront Louis on being such a little ass for beating up that Andrew kid all because he wasn't the one that little Liam was bending over for. Or maybe he could talk to Niall.

... Talking to Niall? He'd rather be having sex with Niall, honestly.

The car drove down the street, stopping with a wild jerk in the front of the Horan home and he sat in the car for a few minutes, the slow hum of the motor growing fainter in his ear as he thought. He hadn't talked to Niall in a while, the blonde avoided him at all costs when it came to rehearsals and shooting for the show. He missed hearing Niall's voice, to be honest. He missed seeing those eyes looking over at him and trying to be so inconspicuous... maybe he will try to talk to him if he sees him. Well duh, of course he will see him, it's his house. Where else would Niall be, on top of a girl? Harry laughed at the thought, Niall was far too infatuated and far too confused about his sexuality, no matter what he says.

Harry opened the door, wrapping fingers around the bag and walking up to the front door when he paused by the garden gate. Someone was sitting on an old swing that hung from the large tree in the backyard, their head held down and bare knuckles gripping tight and whitening. Harry watched the way that the boy slowly moved and rocked himself on the swing in such a solemn manner and his heart felt a little shiver, denim leg swinging over the low white fence and crossing through the planters and flowers to approach the teen. Niall didn't notice his presence, too deep in his thoughts until Harry knelt down beside him with a soft expression on his face.

"Hey," he said quietly and Niall's head shot over to look at him, Harry noting that the pale cheeks were wet with tears that Niall tried to quickly wipe away so the greaser couldn't see his moment of weakness. Niall sniffled a bit and the one hand that still remained tightly wrapped around the rough rope clenched at it.

"W-What do you want? What are you doing here?"

"My mom wanted me to deliver something for your mom... what's wrong with you?" Harry asked and Niall held his head.

"None of your business. My mother isn't here so just leave."

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

"Nothing's wrong, just please go away."

"Come on... I'm a good listener when I want to be."

Niall looked over at him, eyebrow raised and Harry shrugged. He was, just with certain people. He listened to Louis whenever he bitched and whined about Liam ignoring him (though he listened while rolling his eyes about the entire situation), he listened to Liam and how he was starting to like Andrew more and more and really wanting to go steady, he listened to Cara whenever he saw the teenage mother on the rare days she was out (and paid attention to the little marks that covered her arms and cheek. Must have been from 'granny'), he listened to Robert's baby talk when the infant was with his mother. Harry was a great listener, just that people never want to give him a story that was interesting enough to listen too.

Niall will always be interesting to Harry. He just loved to hear words from that intelligent mouth.

Niall let out a shuddered breath, almost like he's been holding it in all day. "... Today is my brother's birthday," Niall muttered.

"Well that's not anything to be all mopey about."

"... He died when I was 5," Niall said and Harry pursed his lips. Well, that changes everything. There was silence between the two, the boys looking at the green grass growing underneath them.

"... I'm sorry to hear that... how did-"

"War. They said that a grenade went off beside him and a whole chunk of his head blew clean off... and I didn't want to believe it until I looked down in the casket."

"You... you saw him?"

"It was to just give us closure... but I still have nightmares about it... and I miss him... he always knew what the right things to say and he would always make me smile when I was sad or confused about something and I needed help. He would help me and then right afterwords, he'd ruffle my hair, take my hand and take me out here where he would push me on the swing for maybe hours until his arms got sore or until mother called us in for dinner... and when he passed away, it really didn't hit me. I tried to convince myself that the person I saw in the casket was someone else and that this was all a cruel trick someone was playing on me and he would come home soon. But when the war ended and everyone was coming home, I went outside and sat on the swing and waited for my brother to come home and come push me... I think I sat there all day and I realized I wasn't ever going to get pushed... so that was when I started to cry... " Niall said quietly, his words fading off as another tear slipped down his cheek that Harry wanted to wipe off. Niall's sleeve went up to his face and he let out another shuddered breath.

"Where's your mom and dad?"

"At the cemetery."

"You didn't go with them?"

"No... I just like to stay here and think about him... "

"... Well, look at the bright side. At least your brother cared about you when he was still here and knew you loved him back."

"What, do you have brothers?"

"No a sister, she's older than me. Real bitch she is though."

"What do you mean?"

Harry sat down on the grass, leaning back on his palms. "Her and her husband, they're addicted to that marijuana stuff. But they clean up nice whenever they come and visit... we all know each other's dirty little secret," Harry said with a smirk.

"You mean they know you're a homosexual?"

"I like girls too, you know. But yes, and they think I'm a stain on the family tree. Course, we never told our mom what happens behind closed doors and what she does is just as humiliating. If they rat out on me, I rat out on them."

"... That's horrible... you shouldn't be like that with your sister."

"Well we are and there's nothing we can do about it. We were kids, we had our fun. Then we grew up, the world changed our views, and now we hate each other. Oh well."

"... I would give anything to see my brother one more time... even if you hate her, at least she's still here... " Niall said softly, holding his head down and Harry stared at the boy for a couple of minutes before getting back onto his feet and stepping behind Niall, grabbing onto the boy's shoulders and giving a gentle push. Niall's head swung back as his feet went up in the air before swinging back. He turned his head, seeing Harry smiling at him as the greaser gave Niall another push, this one harder and Niall going higher. The swing was weak and old, he could hear the branch that it was tied to creaking with every swing and the rope would probably break under Niall's weight. But he couldn't stop the smile coming onto his face, the way that he saw the wind blowing over Niall's cheeks and drying any tears that remained. A laugh escaped his lips as he felt Harry's hands push into his lower back to send him flying back up and almost touching the green leaves on the tree.

"H-Harry!" Niall laughed out and Harry smiled, hands slipping around this time to Niall's slim waist and feeling the fabric of the shirt. He never let his hands touch around there, this was the most physical contact that Harry ever had with Niall in a couple of weeks. But it wasn't sexual or trying to be seductive. It was innocent fun, with Harry's only desire to touch Niall was to make him laugh and smile and forget all about the heartbreak of losing his brother and basically his childhood. He never wanted to see the boy like this again, he always wanted to see that cute dimpled smile. And it made Harry all the more happy that he was the one that was causing that little smile. He felt himself pushing softly and Niall's swinging began to slow down, the blonde glancing over his shoulder to give him a tiny pout. "Why are you stopping?"

Harry just stared at Niall, the green eyes looking and taking in the boy's face. Harry's hands gripped the ropes and he knelt down, nose beginning to graze against Niall's and hot breath on Niall's lips. He hesitated, waiting for Niall to pull away or do something but Niall never did. In fact, he was staring down at the greaser's lips like Harry was staring at the teen's. And Niall's tongue darted out to lick along his dried lips, small blush along his nose. Harry leaned in closer and let his lips press against Niall's, tongue licking along Niall's lower lip. Niall's eyes were fluttering and Harry pressed harder, the wet muscle managing to push through the lips and into the warmth of Niall's sweet mouth. This kiss felt different, it just didn't feel like a kiss that Harry always gave. It felt like he was comforting Niall in a way, like he was trying to give emotion through the way that his lips and tongue meshed along with the boy perched delicately on the swing. It just felt... different. And his heart never raced so fast or face grow so warm and flushed. Niall quickly pulled away, his face red and eyes flickering away.

"... Why did you do that?" Niall asked softly.

"... Because... I like kissing you... especially when you're like this," Harry whispered, capturing Niall's lips again and Niall's mouth parted in surprise. Harry pressed his body a little bit more, sending Niall tumbling onto the grass with him, the wet blades colliding with their heated cheeks as the kiss intensified. It just felt different and Harry really didn't know what. It wasn't that different feeling that he got when he kissed a boy, whenever he kissed a boy, he always felt that thrill of lust and mischief. But now, he didn't feel any of those things. He just felt... nice. Harry's lips slid off and he looked into Niall's soft blue eyes, seeing a still bit of swimming confusion and worry in his eyes and he let a hand slip up to feel Niall's cheek. "... You ever heard that one song?"

"... What do you mean?"

"That one song... um... " Harry closed his eyes for a second, trying to recollect his thoughts. The green eyes opened and he glanced back over, hand still softly touching Niall's cheek and the soft lips parted to let out a slow and breathy voice, "Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight? Are you sorry we drifted apart? Does your memory sway to a bright and sunny day, when I kissed you and called you sweetheart?" Harry softly sung, Niall staring at him with wide eyes and Harry's hand traveled upwards to play with the soft blonde strands, "Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare? Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there? Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again? Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?"

"... Harry... I-I-"

"You know... I really don't know what to think about you. You always look at me and I can see that you want something from me, but whenever I come around you just push me away like I'm the plague... don't you ever wonder that I didn't like that?"

"You always have someone in your lap, why should I care what you feel if I turned you away?"

"Because I want you."

"Then why are you seeing other people if you really want me?"

"... Because I'm a sex crazed teenage boy that likes to get his share of vagina and dick?" Harry said with a wry smile and Niall's lips turned a bit, trying to differ between a laugh and a scowl. Harry laughed, thumb running over Niall's lips. "... But I really do want you... I like the way that your skin feels, soft and always turning pink under my touch. I like your eyes... how they twinkled when I was pushing you on the swing... I love kissing you... it just feels so... different... in a good way... I really do want you, Niall... "

"... Harry, I just can't. My parents-"

"Would your brother support you if he knew about this?" Harry asked and Niall bit his lip.

"... I don't know. I'm sure he'll talk to me... maybe he would... he was always an open thinker like that... "

"If your parents aren't going to love you for being who you are, then you don't need to do anything for them, they don't deserve someone like you... we're special, Niall. And I'll be here for you, I'll be the only person that matters in your world if it becomes like that, I really don't care," Harry said. He wouldn't be leaving anything behind. His sister and brother-in-law would gladly jump on him and accuse him of being a faggot and disgusting stain on the Styles branch to keep their own secrets hidden. His mother would want Harry to be as far away as possible so noone could associate him with her kind. His father... his father would probably beat him. Or kick him out as soon as the information came out. Harry didn't care, he didn't need them. He could be on his own, he could make an honest living. He was going to be famous, who cared what anyone thought about him.

He loved himself. Why couldn't Niall feel the same way about himself?

Niall's eyes lingered on Harry's lips and Harry pulled the boy in closer, arms wrapping around Niall and hugging him close to his chest. He felt Niall gripping tight on the back of his jacket.

"Why are you doing this?" Niall asked again and Harry breathed in the scent in Niall's hair.

"... Just because... " Harry mumbled and squeezed Niall tighter. Yeah... he did like the way that this felt. It felt better than holding Stacy in his lap and the girl pressing her breasts against his chest. It felt better than all of the girls that he had in the backseat of his car at the drive-in, moaning and panting hot and heavy against his skin. It felt better than sleeping with a couple of guys from the football team at his school, taking one by one into the locker room once everyone cleared to give them a special 'good luck out there' present that none of the cheerleaders could even compare to. No, what was going on between him and Niall right at that very moment felt so much more. Felt so different and yet, Harry felt he should have known this feeling so long ago. It felt... so wonderful and he didn't want the moment to end and the sun to go down or Niall's parents coming in and walking on the two of them cuddling in the grass with Harry sniffing Niall's hair and Niall's face flushed red as a rose.

Harry was actually grateful his mother made him deliver the food that was probably getting cold and ants beginning to crawl and savage the food lying on the ground in the package.

He started to hum and he nuzzled back into Niall's hair, picking up where he left off in the song. "Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again? Tell me Niall, are you lonesome tonight?"


	10. Outcasts

"So you really like this guy?"

"Yeah Jennifer. He's nice and really sweet and he's recovering nicely," Liam said with a small smile to the curly haired girl sitting across from him in the small booth at the back of the diner they were mingling in. The boy beside her, darker in skin and arm thrown around her casually, didn't comment on anything, other hand idly drumming in slight irritation.

"Well, what about that other guy you were always talking about?" the girl asked and Liam bit his lip. He hadn't talked to Louis, he hadn't even seen Louis ever since what he did at the drive-in. He still talked to Harry during practice and taping of the show, sometimes Harry dropping in subtle hints that Louis was a miserable and angry mess without the boy by his side but frankly, Liam didn't care. Liam was a miserable mess every time Louis pushed him away when all he wanted was to feel some sort of affection or liking.

Louis never said that he loved Liam. Liam always told Louis that he loved him when they were alone together.

The boy sitting next to Jennifer banged his fist on the table and let out an annoyed groan. "Let's just get out of here, they're obviously not going to bring us anything," he said through gritted teeth and the girl beside him raised an eyebrow.

"Where are we going to go?"

"Same place I always go when I want food and won't get judged for the color of my skin. Home," the boy replied, nudging the girl out of the booth and Liam sighed, following the two. When they got out to the front, hands on the door ready to push open, Liam heard a shout.

"Hey! You didn't pay!" a gruff voice shouted and Liam felt the eyes of the customers falling on the only there people that were not pale as the white counters and décor.

"Pay for what? We didn't even get to order, we're leaving," the boy snapped and Liam seen a couple of college kids getting up from their spot at the counter, approaching the three with threatening eyes.

"You calling him a liar?" one of them hissed and Liam took a hesitant step back, to which the men took a menacing step forward. He gulped, he was afraid of this happening. He could see the two companions beside him staring with dark brown eyes and hands still on the door. Then without warning, Jennifer and the boy pushed through the door and took off in a run with Liam quickly trying to keep at their heels. He heard shouting behind him and his heart began to race in fear, his friend's moving faster than he was able to catch up and falling dreadfully behind. The shouts were growing louder and louder and he turned down a random alleyway, hoping that he was able to lose them. But he could still hear a set of footprints running after him and squeezed his eyes tight. He had to get out of here, he had to get back home.

Then he heard something slam against the garbage dumpster and he turned, eyes widening when he saw only one of the guys struggling with someone in a leather jacket. The greaser's fist was out and slamming repeatedly into the guy's head while leg kept jutting up to knee the man in the gut. He shoved him away, the man looking at him with a dark glare.

"Get out of my sight," the boy growled out, digging into his pocket and pulling out a switchblade. The man growled at him before turning to glare at Liam and ran down the alley to the open street. The greaser turned, Liam blushing and biting his lower lip in nerves when he saw that it was Louis that saved him. The boy watched Liam closely as he shuffled left to right and gave a nervous cough.

"... Thank you, Louis."

Louis didn't say anything, walking over to Liam and letting his hands gently cup his cheeks and pull Liam in for a soft kiss. Liam blinked, feeling the warm muscle licking around his lower lip lightly begging for entrance and his hands went up to Louis' chest to give a rough shove away. Louis stumbled back and gave Liam a look mixed with hurt and anger as Liam wiped his lips clean of the kiss.

"Why did you do that? I-I'm Andrew's boyfriend and-"

"You're my boyfriend!" Louis shouted, face as red as a tomato and small body slightly trembling when he said that and Liam blushed red, heart almost thumping right out of his chest. He stared at the greaser for a couple of minutes before a frown came to his lips.

"So I'm your boyfriend when I'm seeing someone else?"

"Don't talk like that to me," Louis said darkly and Liam frowned. He was sick of it, he wasn't going to take it anymore.

"Louis, what is wrong with you! You never want to kiss me or hug me or even acknowledge me in front of your friends and when I finally find someone that really does show that he cares about me you go and beat him up!"

"Because he-he wasn't supposed to be touching you!"

"I'm not your property, Louis! He can touch me if he wants, he's my boyfriend!"

"Stop saying that!" Louis screamed, grabbing onto Liam's wrists and slamming the boy into the brick wall, jutting hips out to grind and hold the boy in place. Liam squirmed, thrashing about as Louis slammed lips onto Liam's, tongue now regaining that force and self-hatred and ravaged the other boy's innocent and frightened mouth. Liam's eyes squinted, every time he felt Louis pull away he would try to scream out for Louis to stop but the boy just slammed lips on his mouth to silence his pleas. Why was he doing this? Why was he grabbing at him like this? This wasn't going to change anything between them for the better, it was too late.

He just wanted it all to stop.

"Louis, please, stop," Liam cried and Louis paused in groping at the younger boy to look in his eyes. Louis just looked... confused. Like he didn't know what was going on or how to make things all better. Liam never remembered seeing Louis like this, afraid and so confused and wanting. But... but Liam cared about Andrew, he couldn't just leave him for Louis. It was too late, no matter how much Louis wanted Liam back, it was just too late. Louis leaned in to kiss Liam again but Liam roughly pushed him away and Louis stumbled back.

"... Liam, don't go."

"... I'm sorry, Louis."

"No you're not! If you were really sorry, you'd give me another chance!"

"And what would you do different!"

Louis bit his lip and Liam felt his heart shaking, "Don't you get it? Don't you know that I get hurt because you don't know who you are. You won't say you like me, you never even told me that you loved me. Louis, if you're not even willing to do that, to just say that you like a boy, then there's nothing between us."

Louis stood in silence and Liam sighed, turning on his heel. "... Goodbye Louis."

And with that, Liam walked out the alley way with head held high. Though his heart grew heavy when he heard a weak voice far behind him:

"... But I do love you... "  
______________________________________________________________________________

Niall lied in his bed, watching the way that the record continued to spin and the soft music played. His heart was thumping fast and he let out a shaky breath. He did love Harry... or at least he still had feelings for the greaser. He can't deny it anymore, he felt something when Harry was pushing him on the swing and holding him tight. He felt... loved. For who he was, not any little image that he was trying so hard to uphold. Maybe that was why he loved Harry, because he never felt he needed to put on a facade for the greaser. He was free to be himself and not care what Harry would think about him, frankly because the greaser didn't care about what Niall thought about him.

That feeling that he was cared for.

He sat up, swinging his feet over and slipping on some shoes, nose tilting in the air at the scent of something cooking. He got up onto his feet, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen, seeing his mother calmly stirring up a pot of soup and took the cookbook that was sitting on the counter. Mrs. Horan glanced over at her son, quirking an eyebrow.

"What's for dinner?" he asked, turning the pages and she smiled.

"The Styles are coming over in a couple of weeks and I'm testing out some new recipes," she said with a smile and Niall blushed, fingers gripping tight on the book at the thought of seeing Harry again in his house. But now, instead of worry and nerves floating though his mind, it was anticipation and slight excitement. Because now, he knew what he was going to say when he sees Harry again. He was going to say 'I like you' to Harry. That was a start, right? He had to take baby steps, there was still the matter of how to deal with his parents about his conflicting sexuality and what his uncertain future was going to be like. These things just needed to take some time.

He just hoped that Harry would feel the same way.  
______________________________________________________________________________

The cigarette burned as Harry leaned against the wall of the old bar and strip joint. Nothing new was happening and a bored Harry Styles was never fun. He couldn't go to the drive-in because he was trying to prove to Niall that he really did want him. He couldn't call Stacy to go out on a date because he wanted to be the one taking Niall out on dates. He couldn't call Louis... well, he didn't want to call Louis. He was too angry at him to really have a pleasant conversation with him. Why were Louis and Niall so difficult? Yes, Harry wasn't screaming out that he liked boys, but he was honest with himself. He knew who he was and wasn't making people's brains go on the fritz all because they couldn't figure out their own mind.

He knew who he was.

He took the cigarette out, exhaling a stream of smoke through his lips and watched the people walk down the street, keeping to their own business and not paying any attention to the greaser that watched them closely. It wasn't really that many people out walking today, a stout man, a couple of giggling teenage girls, a blonde girl with a little baby in her arms... wait... 

"Cara!" Harry shouted out and Cara stopped, looking over at the boy running over to her and she hid her face in Robert's brown hair. Harry raised an eyebrow, then the green orbs caught a bruise on the girl's shoulder and he frowned. "Where did you get that?"

"None of your business, Harry. Just leave me alone," Cara said and Harry frowned, hand gripping firmly on the shoulder and the girl let out a pained gasp. She shook free of Harry's grip, "Go away! I can take care of myself, Harry!"

"Where did you get that bruise, Cara?... From 'grandma'?" Harry hissed and Cara's eyes widened, hand holding the child tightly and Robert let out a little squeal. Harry glanced at the baby, the large green eyes looking over at him and looking at Harry's face in awe and Harry let out a soft sigh. "Cara, please tell me what's going on."

"You're not my father, Harry."

But he was Robert's, wasn't he?

Cara's eyes widened even more and Harry paused. Did he say that out loud? He sometimes had a tendency to blurt things out when he had so many things on his mind at once. What with Niall, Louis, Cara, Robert, his parents, his love life, everything. He looked at the girl that was now shifting from left to right and holding onto her child with head held down and not looking at the boy standing in front of her. Harry let out a sigh, "Cara... that time on the beach... was that it? You got pregnant after we had sex on the beach?"

"Please don't talk about that while we're in public," she whispered and Harry frowned. Another one. Another person that was afraid of what everyone thought about themselves. Who cares! Who cares about any of these people, it wasn't like Harry was ever going to see them again. Harry didn't notice that they were walking down the street, their feet taking them to an unknown destination and Harry groaned.

"Cara... why didn't you tell me-"

"Because I don't want to drag anyone down with me," she blurted out, Robert tilting his head to get a better look at his mother's face. He could hear the hurt in her voice and Harry let an arm slip around her, hearing a choked sob as soon as the fingers brushed against her skin. "...I'm not living with my grandmother, okay? My family hates me, they threw me out when I didn't want to give Robert up for adoption... it's not fair, he's my son. He may have been unexpected but he is my son and I'm their daughter. And every time I go home asking if I can come back, they don't want me. Because I won't let him go and... and it's just... "

"Hey, hey," Harry said softly, rubbing her arm and she let out a shuddered sigh. "... So if that isn't your grandma's house-"

"I was living on the streets for a while and one day a college guy said I could live with him if I cook and clean. I... I had to go, I needed to have food for Robert and he was getting sick sleeping without warmth. But... if I do something wrong or not quick enough-"

"He beats you," Harry finished, eyes growing dark and then falling on the baby, "Did he touch him?"

"No, thank goodness. But... Harry... "

"Look, you could stay with me. I'll lie and say that Robert's your brother or something-"

"But I'm sick of it!" Cara snapped suddenly and Harry retracted his hand, "I'm sick of walking down the street with Robert in my arms and when people tell me how cute my 'brother' or my 'cousin' or my 'nephew' was and I tell them he's my son, they look at me like I'm some sort of freak of nature or that I'm some whore for having a baby!"

"You're not, Cara. Just... we're all special and they don't understand."

"I'm not special, Harry. I was careless and now I can't go home without losing someone that I really love," she cried, Robert's little hands going to touch at his mother's wet cheeks. The two teens turned on the street where Harry's home was, feet slowing down in pace as Harry wracked his mind for an idea... 

"Look, once I graduate, I'm out of here. I'm taking someone with me... you and Robert can come along too," he replied and Cara scoffed.

"Harry, I can take care of Robert by myself."

"I know... just something to help you back on your feet... look, if Robert is my son, I want to help you... we're not in love but I'll still help raise him if you need it."

Cara sighed, the two of them stopping in front of the house and she turned, looking at Harry with soft eyes. Robert raised his hand out towards Harry, hand opening and closing and he smiled lightly. "... Can I hold him?"

Cara hesitated for a bit, then a small smile formed over her lips and she gently let the child pass over to Harry. Robert gripped tight on the leather collar of Harry's jacket, tiny fingers rubbing and feeling the fabric in wonder and the other hand touching at Harry's neck. Harry smiled, just another reason for Harry to leave this place. Sure, he always had that itching feeling in the back of his head whenever he looked at the baby, that feeling that the child was his own son. Now... maybe Niall would like the idea of being able to help raise a child too. That is, if the boy agrees to come with Harry. The brunette wasn't sure where he was going to go, maybe California. Yeah, that was far away from here, far away from all of these people that were going to judge him. And maybe in time, they would accept them all. They would see them as people, not outcasts for wanting to be with the people that they love.

He could only hope.

He felt Robert squirming and Cara took the baby out of Harry's grasp, bouncing him and nurturing the little boy as Robert made little whimpers.

"You're a great mother, Cara."

"... I have to be, he's my son."

Harry smiled, letting a hand run over the baby's head before running down Cara's arm and stopping to hook at her hand.

"Things are going to be alright. The four of us are going to live together and no one is ever going to think bad about us. And you'll find someone that loves you and Robert and won't hurt you and me and Niall will-"

"Niall?... You're bringing a guy?"

"... Yeah, I am... I'm in love with him."

Cara was silent, most likely processing the information while simultaneously going through the shock and surprise and Harry bit his lip. She let go of Harry's hand to wrap around her baby tighter and nuzzled a bit into Robert's hair.

"... Do you think that would be good for Robert?" she asked and Harry frowned.

"What, because I'm seeing another guy? Cara, I said I want to help raise him and I'm sure Niall would want to help too-"

"But maybe that wouldn't be right for Robert. I mean, I don't want him to grow up confused," she replied and Harry's eyes widened. She pursed her lips, "Harry, I didn't mean that-"

"So I'm the one that's fucked in the head because I want to be with a guy. And you don't want me near my son because he might grow up to like boys? Cara, I'm not a freak! I love a guy, so what! I also know that I want to help you raise Robert!"

"I don't need your help, Harry! Just leave us alone!" she screamed.

"Well fine then! Get out of here and go back to being beaten! See if I care! And if he grows up fucking boys, you better believe that I'll be there for him when you aren't!"

"I will be there for him! He's my son!"

"Well he's mine too!"

Robert was crying and Cara let out an exhausted sigh, holding her son tight and trying to soothe her frightened son. She turned up to glare at Harry, "I don't need your help, Harry. I've been surviving this long, I can go on longer."

"... I just wanted to help," he mumbled and she sighed.

"... If I wanted your help, I would have told you the moment I found out I was having Robert... goodbye, Harry," she said quietly and with that, began to walk down the street. Harry watched the retreating figure and groaned.

... He wasn't a freak. He was as normal as everyone else. What was the problem?


	11. Worth Anything

Liam laughed, falling down onto the bed and holding the stuffed bear tightly in his arms. He looked over in the doorway, seeing Andrew leaning against it and smiling lightly at the boy bouncing on his bed.

"That was so much fun! Thank you, thank you! I never went to a carnival before!" Liam chirped, holding the prize the brunette won for him and his boyfriend smiled even more, walking into his room and sitting calmly beside the bubbly boy.

"I'm glad you had fun," he said, little blush spreading across his cheeks as Liam gave him a small peck on the nose. Liam laughed, seeing the teen's glasses were beginning to fog and Andrew pulled the spectacles off, wiping at the lenses in embarrassment.

"Leave them off, I like you without your glasses," Liam said quietly, taking Andrew's hand that held the eyewear and Andrew blushed before settling the glasses on his nightstand. The two of them sat in silence, Andrew's parents gone from the house and this being the first time that Liam even seen the inside of the brunette's house. It was nice and cozy, Andrew's room soft colors of the earth and the feel of it just made Liam feel all warm and collected. He scooted a bit closer, letting his head fall onto the brunette's shoulder but Andrew quickly pulled it back, making a small hiss. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, no I'm fine," Andrew said weakly and Liam frowned, hands going up to pull at Andrew's jacket and the material slipped off of the lanky frame. Then the hands played with the green tie, Liam' eyes flickering up so innocently at the teen's blushing face and undid the knot, letting the fabric bunch between his fingers and slipped the material off of his shoulders. Liam tossed the tie off to the side, fingers now swiftly undoing the buttons on Andrew's shirt and Liam slid the fabric off of his body to see the slightly freckled skin, along with a large bruise on his shoulder.

"... Did Louis do that... or your father?" Liam asked quietly and Andrew gave a small sigh.

"My father. It was for not standing up for myself... and being at the drive-in with you," Andrew said quietly and Liam's eyes widened. He didn't want their relationship jeopardizing Andrew's safety. He didn't want Andrew beaten just because he was staying out with Liam. He didn't want Andrew hurt, that was the last thing on his mind when he decided to start a relationship with the teen. Andrew gave a nervous cough and rubbed tenderly at his shoulder. "It's alright, h-he's not that bad anymore... I think he's starting to accept who I am... hopefully."

"But... but I don't want you to keep getting hurt," Liam said quietly and Andrew smiled weakly, leaning over to kiss Liam on the lips.

"It's okay. You're worth anything that he can do to me," he said softly and Liam blushed, feeling the lips press gently on his again, the tongue slowly pressing inside the younger boy's mouth and twirling around Liam's own tongue. Liam's fingers went up to move into the brown tufts of hair, adrenaline and arousal pumping through his veins, lips beginning to move faster and tongue growing more forceful and moving more rough. Andrew gripped onto Liam's clothed back, tugging slightly at the simple shirt the boy wore and Liam broke away, lips swollen, and gripped at the brim of his shirt to pull the material over his head and toss onto the floor. He crawled into the brunette's lap, slowly grinding and continuing to kiss and suck, mouth gaping to take a couple of open-mouthed kisses and little hums of pleasure.

Liam didn't know if it was the environment of being in a bed of your boyfriend who was already half-naked and knowing that they had the house all to themselves or that he was just young and hormones were running wild or if he just wanted to take away any pain that his boyfriend was feeling from his parents that made him want to keep going. This time was different, he wanted to go all the way. He wanted to give his virginity to the boy that would gladly take the gift. The boy that would appreciate every little bit of love and desire that radiated from Liam.

Unlike Louis.

No, Louis was the past.

... But he still missed him.

No he didn't!

He did!

The little moan that Liam made in his throat was more of confusion than pleasure, Andrew not really telling the difference and proceeded to slip off Liam's pants. Why was he thinking about Louis? He needed to get over him, he already had someone that loved him and admitted to love him... but Louis said that he loved him in the alley... that was the first time Liam ever heard that... no, it couldn't count. Louis... Louis was just desperate for Liam to come back and would say anything. That's right, it didn't mean anything if Liam would come back to him right then and there. That would mean all Louis would have to do is say that he loved him to stop Liam from leaving again. And Louis needed to do so much more than that.

It was just too late.

Andrew leaned him down, his own pants discarded on the floor and gently began to rock and grind, the two boy's erections rubbing against each other through the underwear and lips never separating, Liam could feel the brunette's body beginning to stick with sweat and skin extremely hot. He felt a hand slowly creeping down his stomach, fingers lightly touching his undefined muscles to touch the hem of his underwear, blue eyes looking at him for approval. Liam bit his lip, shyness and insecurity beginning to cloud his mind as he gave a small nod of the head and his eyes scrunched a bit when he felt the clothing slide down his legs and leave him exposed. He was never seen naked by anyone else, especially in these kinds of situations. He felt Andrew kiss his neck.

"You're beautiful," he whispered in his ear and Liam blushed, feeling a tongue dragging along the pulsing vein and a hand softly squeezing his erection and Liam gasped. His tongue almost let the name 'Louis' slip through his lips, teeth biting quickly and he stifled another moan. Andrew's hand slowly pumped his erection, thumb running over the tip and collecting drops of pre-cum that began to bead and Liam felt his heart beating extremely fast and head spinning at all of the feelings he was going through. Then his breath hitched and Andrew's hand stopped, both of their eyes widening with fear.

Someone slammed the front door downstairs.

"Y-Your parents," Liam stuttered out and Andrew was looking around the room frantic, eyes beginning to grow even more panicked when the sound of someone coming up the stairs flowed into their ears. Liam scanned the room, eyes falling on the closet and he didn't wait for Andrew to come up with a plan, the boy fleeing inside the small and cramped space and sliding the door closed. He peeked through the cracks, seeing Andrew trying to hide Liam's clothes and jumped when the door opened, in stepping a tall man with a burly build. Andrew turned to face him, in nothing but his underwear and was all but making eye contact.

"... What are you doing, son?" the man asked, voice sounding slightly concerned but having a small edge of anger and suspicion.

"N-Nothing sir. It was just hot and I took off my clothes," Andrew lied, still not looking up and Liam was beginning to sweat. He felt his body trembling, seeing the man stepping around the bed and looking around the room, eyes flickering over to the closet every so often. Then his eyes fell on something else in the room and Liam gulped.

Andrew may have hidden his clothes, but he didn't hide the large teddy bear won at the fair.

The teen's father picked up the stuffed animal, turning to his son and the hand around the toy's neck was tightening.

"Where did you get this? You went out? You lied to us?" he questioned, approaching Andrew threateningly.

"N-No, I swear!"

"Then where the hell did you get this!"

"I-A friend gave it to me."

"... A friend... that boy you've been hanging around?"

Liam gulped, heart beating so fast and fear taking over his entire form, seeing Andrew's father now staring at the closet with dark blue eyes and Andrew bit his lip.

"N-No! I-well... "

The man began to approach the closet, hand stretched out to yank it open and reveal Liam's hiding place, Liam beginning to inch back into the mounds and mounds of clothes pressing against his bare body and eyes were widening in fear. "Okay, it was him! But he left, I promise!"

Andrew's father stopped, turning to face his son.

"I told you to stop seeing him."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"... You disobeyed me."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry father," Andrew pleaded and he threw the toy across the room. The hand that was getting ready to open the closet door was now beginning to wrap around Andrew's neck and Liam gasped, seeing the man slam his son against the wall. "Dad, please don't!" Andrew choked out.

"You little fag! Why can't you get it through your thick skull!" his father hissed, slamming Andrew's head a couple of times. "You're a boy! You like girls! Girls! You're supposed to be fucking girls! Not boys! Especially some dirty little boy that you got beaten up over!"

"Don't call him that!" Andrew screamed and his father roughly slammed his head, Liam's eyes widening when he saw a little spot of blood on the wall.

"If I ever catch you with him again or if I even catch whiff of you two fucking each other, I swear you won't see the light of day again!" his father screamed, continuing to slam and choke the teen until he was sure the message got through to his son. He threw him down on the floor, Andrew lying and taking much needed breaths of air.

"Daddy," Andrew sobbed and the man growled.

"Until you get your little brain sorted out, you're not my son," he hissed, kicking Andrew's side on the way out and the boy groaned in pain. Liam didn't dare come out of the space, sitting in fear and watching the boy he was initiating sex with on the floor with the back of his head wet with blood, coughing and breathing hardly. Slowly and quietly, Liam crawled out of the closet and over to Andrew, touching gently at his head and at his bruised neck.

"... I'm so sorry," Liam said. He didn't know what else he could say after seeing something so horrific as that. Andrew looked up at him, face red and he wiped a couple of tears that were in his eyes and gave his weak smile.

"It's alright... you're worth anything he can do to me," he breathed and then coughed some more, Liam beginning to rub his back soothingly and look down at the teen on the ground in so much pain.

Liam didn't believe he was worth this.


	12. Like Romeo and Juliet

Niall groaned, trying to gather all of his items and get home. He knew his parents would be furious with him, they already didn't approve of him staying late nights at the studio to practice. But now he was really pushing it and he was only hoping that they would understand. Not like he fallen behind in his work, he just got a little bit too busy with the show.

And Harry.

Niall realized he could just up and say that he liked Harry to the brunette himself. Harry wasn't taking to Stacy anymore, which drove the girl absolutely nuts and more desperate to increase her sex appeal to grab the teen's attention once more. But Niall knew why, because after Stacy would storm off to add more lipstick or adjust her dress to show more leg and cleavage, Harry would look over at him and give him a soft smile and wink that made Niall go weak in the knees and swoon. Who was this Harry? The one that was acting like a gentleman instead of the dirty greaser that he tried so hard to not fall in love with. Was he saying that he missed the way Harry would act around him?

Maybe.

Niall's mind was a total mess when it came to Harry Styles.

The blonde swore, trying to grab at dropped textbooks and groaned. He wasn't going to get home anytime soon, his parents are going to be livid. Then he heard a noise and glanced up, seeing Harry leaning against the doorframe casually with cigarette between his lips and gorgeous eyebrow raised in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" Harry mumbled around the cigarette, smoke puffing out through his lips and Niall blushed, trying to grab at another book.

"Nothing, just wanted to stay and practice a little bit longer... you shouldn't smoke inside here," Niall said and Harry rolled his eyes and raised his hands.

"Oooh, I'm so scared of the non-existent people and what they're going to do if they catch me," Harry said sarcastically but took the cigarette out anyways and flicked it to the ground to stomp out the smoke. Niall was frowning and blushing, trying to keep his eyes on the fallen books instead of the brunette that was approaching him slowly. Harry knelt down, taking Niall's chin and tilting the pale boy's face upwards and smiled, "You know, you're acting kind of funny around me now. I don't want to assume since you'll probably deny it but... "

Niall felt his face growing hot, feeling Harry's thumb running along his jaw and tip tapping at his lower lip.

"I... maybe... I do... "

"Do what?"

"... Like you?"

"... Like me as a friend?"

Why was Harry making this so much harder? He already knew what he meant, shouldn't that be good enough? Harry stared at him and then sighed, "I need to hear you say it. I don't want to be like... my friend was and be the only one saying 'I love you' in a relationship. What am I to you, Niall?"

Harry was a personal bane to Niall. Harry was a complete distraction and frustrated Niall to no end. Harry was a fantasy to Niall and someone that his body ached and lusted for. Harry was comforting to Niall when he was the most upset.

Harry was like a lover to Niall.

"... I like you... I like you as a romantic interest... b-but my parents-"

His stutter was cut off with Harry's lips, lips still warm from the cigarette pressing and sliding along Niall's shocked and nervous ones before Niall started to move his lips in sync. Harry hummed, tongue licking along Niall's and the brunette gasped. Which of course meant Harry was going to take full advantage and ravish his mouth, tongue running along and prodding in Niall's sweet mouth and swallow every moan that Niall made deep in his throat. Niall broke away, cheeks red and panting heavily.

"W-What if someone catches us?" Niall asked and Harry smirked, hands going over to unbutton Niall's dress shirt.

"No one ever will. And if they do, who cares? We'll run away and live our lives happy and with each other," Harry said, beginning to kiss each exposed area of pale skin and Niall felt his heart racing. Run away? Without finishing school? But then he wouldn't be able to become a doctor and he wouldn't be able to afford a nice home like his father. How could Harry say they'll run away together when Niall was still very much uncertain about his future? He cared about his parents, so what if Harry could care less about his own. He knew how bad his mother was and still is in pain about losing Greg, if she lost him as well who knows what will happen. Niall didn't want to put his family through that again, the pain the first time was enough.

He felt the fabric slip off of him and Harry kiss at his chest and tongue dragging along from surprisingly defined chest and abdomen to the hem of Niall's slacks with a prominent bulge in the front. Harry looked up at him, hands gripping at his sides and delivering butterfly kisses to Niall's skin. "... Do you want to go through with this?"

"Huh?... O-oh... I... " Niall wasn't really sure. Saying that he liked Harry was a whole different step from saying that he'll have sex with Harry. And having sex in his dressing room isn't the same level of intimacy as making love in the comfort of a bed and with someone that you spent years of love with. Niall wanted that, he wasn't for sure if he wanted this. Harry was looking up at him, green eyes holding expectancy and want and Niall gulped. He pulled Harry's hands off of him and placed them on his shoulders, letting out a soft sigh. "... Not yet. But I do like you, Harry... but now isn't the right place for something like this."

"... Fine," Harry said, a little bit begrudgingly but Niall let out a small sigh of relief. He'll be comfortable about having sex with Harry when he finally gets his future sorted out. Sex would just be an invitation to more sneaking around and more complications that Niall wasn't for sure he could handle at the moment. Harry kissed his cheek and nose, then the lips went down to deliver a small kiss to his lips. "... You're not... scared, are you?"

"Scared?"

"... The first time we had sex... I hurt you bad, didn't I?"

Yes, yes he did. Niall was young, they both were. And Harry may have had lots and lots of sex with girls, but Niall wasn't for sure aware of the greaser's expertise with boys. And of course, Niall never had sex with a boy, so he wouldn't know what was going on or what was happening. So the nightmare that he was bleeding uncontrollably between his legs and the shearing pain of intercourse traumatized him the first couple of months afterwords. But then those nightmares turned into dreams about Harry, dreams about the pleasure that came after the pain and dreams about the way the greaser was treating him with so much love and compassion.

It may have hurt, but it was made up for.

"... No, I'm not scared. Just I want to do this when we're more closer and more... "

"Like boyfriends?"

"... I guess... "

"... Then will you be my boyfriend?" Harry asked and Niall blushed. He didn't know why he was surprised, he didn't know why he wasn't expecting that, but he gave a small smile and shyly looked away.

"Boyfriend... I always thought a girl would ask me that... not a guy."

"Consider it a compliment. Girls and guys want to get in your pants."

"No, that's just you."

"Guilty," Harry said with a teasing smile that Niall didn't have to fight to smile back. "... But will you be my boyfriend? I promise, Niall, we can make this work. We can be happy together if you just give me a chance and let me love you."

"... I know... " Niall said softly and felt Harry kiss his lips again. Harry murmured a soft 'Boyfriend' against Niall's lips, the brunette hearing Harry's tone and how he said the title with such want and love. It made Niall's heart flutter at the word and his skin grow amazingly hot.

Boyfriends. They were boyfriends.  
______________________________________________________________________________

The more Niall looked at his and Harry's relationship, the more Niall felt it was like Romeo and Juliet, only the families won't feud until the find out about the secret relationship. Harry had his own Mercutio, Niall wasn't for sure if the other greaser remembered him three years ago and all of the taunting and tormenting. Louis didn't seem to take to Niall easily, staring at the way Niall would let a hand wrap and tangle within the greaser's fingers and Harry would lean in to kiss his hair. Harry was fine doing things like this in front of Louis, but not in front of the other greasers. Niall was glad though, he was already mocked for being a nerd and a loser in their eyes, he didn't want to be mocked for being a homosexual.

But Harry would stick up for him. Harry wouldn't let them talk to him like that.

But the times that Niall would be in Harry's grasp and Harry pressing him up against the wall with Louis' eyes watching the two, Niall didn't feel odd. He felt... he didn't really know. The look in Louis' eyes wasn't of hate... more of want... and confusion. Was Louis attracted to Harry? Or was he attracted to Niall? Or maybe he was thinking about someone else... 

Harry told Niall not to daunt on it, Louis was just a very difficult person to understand exactly what he wants.

Niall had his own Nurse in Liam, the boy eager to talk about a whole new different side to him other than Andrew or Harry. Niall never really got to know Liam, he actually kept his distance from the younger boy whenever they were at practice or filming. But now, Liam was actually a nice person to talk to, especially since Liam seemed so sure about his own sexuality and wasn't intimidating Niall like Harry was. He talked to him, he tried to explain things as best as he could, Niall felt rather embarrassed to ask Liam when the boy was about three or four years his junior, but Liam didn't mind. And when Niall would catch Liam with Andrew, the two male's hands linked together and whispering in each other's ears, Niall didn't feel embarrassed at all or confused.

Maybe Harry and him could be like that someday.

Maybe things could work after all and there won't be any fear. His parents would understand, right? They would want their son to be happy with his life and be with the one that he loves and not be miserable, right?

... Right?

Niall gulped, his thoughts getting rambled as he walked down the street, Harry's arm linked around his waist. He could hear the chatter of Liam and Andrew walking close behind them, the other couple usually walking along Harry and Niall whenever it was time for rehearsals to end and Harry looked down at the blushing boy next to him.

"Something wrong?"

"... Just thinking about my parents," Niall mumbled. He didn't like lying, he didn't like smiling in his mother's face and say that he was going to go off to the park with Barbara when in actuality he was going with Harry and be in the backseat of the Thunderbird for a hot and heavy necking session. Harry was trying to restrict himself as best as he could, trying to respect Niall's wishes. But Niall knew he wanted to have sex. Or at least be considered sexually active with Niall. Either that or get Niall's answer in moving to California, to which he was considering. California was a nice state, sunny skies and nice beaches. It would be nice to get away from this dark-

"Hey, watch it!" Harry screamed at the car that barely stopped as they were crossing the street, slamming his fist on the black hood and the bright lights shone in all four of the boys' faces. Niall gulped, seeing someone shifting about in the car and the door opened, a man in a suit stepping out to chew Harry's ear off with parental scolding. Then the man's eyes flickered to Liam and Andrew, both of them stunned with fear as the man's eyes darkened.

"... What are you doing out here?" the man growled out.

"I-I'm walking home, sir. Nothing else, sir," Andrew nervously squeaked out and Harry was watching the man closely, Niall feeling the arm around him tightening.

"With a bunch of boys?"

"T-They're friends, sir. Just-"

"Not that one," the man said through gritted teeth, pointing at Liam and the smaller boy shook in fear. "Get in the car, Andrew."

"Father, please I-"

"Get in the car now," the man said, voice threatening and Niall was starting to grow afraid. He never met Andrew's father before, he never even seen him before. Andrew was staring at him before taking a deep breath and stepping towards the car. Liam's hand jutted out and grabbed the boy's wrist, Andrew's father looking with livid eyes.

"Liam, let go," Harry muttered, inching closer and Liam began to shake his head.

"N-No, I can't. Andrew... "

"I'll be alright, Liam... let go, please," the brunette said softly, Niall seeing that Liam's grip only tightened more and he was furiously shaking his head.

"I can't, I can't. Andrew, you'll-"

"Get your hands off of him or else," the father growled, stepping closer and Harry took a step forward with hand digging into his coat pocket.

"Stay away," Harry said darkly.

"Tell your little friend to get his filthy hands off of my son."

"Father please, don't-"

Andrew's father cut off his statement by going over and prying Liam's hands off of the teen's wrist himself, Liam beginning to scream and cry as Andrew was yanked forward and shoved into the car. Harry and Niall grabbed a hold of their friend, the younger boy beginning to kick and scream louder as the car revved to life. Through the window, Niall could see Andrew mouthing out 'I love you' over and over again and he felt his heart growing heavy and slowly beating with each scream from Liam and every second the black car disappeared into the night.

Things will be alright, right?

Right?


	13. The Portrait

Andrew moved away. At least, that was the story that the entire cast was told the following week. Harry just shook his head solemnly, hand going to gently rub the back of the distraught boy next to him. Liam danced with less vigor, he sang with less happiness and every time the show would cut to a commercial and Harry would try to talk to the boy, Liam would only mutter that Andrew wouldn't up and leave without telling him.

Something happened to that boy.

And Liam feared that it wasn't anything pleasant.

Harry just continued to be a friend, trying to get Liam out of the rut and back into that colorful and vibrant personality that everyone just falls in love with. He knew Louis was curious about the situation, though for all the wrong reasons. Harry wouldn't tell a thing about Liam to Louis, not unless he proved to Harry that he wasn't going to twist with the boy's mind anymore. He was already fragile and he didn't need Liam trying to throw himself off of a building in despair at not being loved.

"Now, I know you kids are still upset about Andrew leaving," Cowell came to the cast one day to say. It was mostly Liam the only one upset, the kids moved on. Andrew to them was just another co-star and another spotlight that is now free for them to take. Liam let out a sigh, Harry hearing a mumbled 'Something happened, he's not alright' and Cowell clasped his hands together. "But guess what? We already found someone to come on the show and replace him! She's sweeter than candy and for sure can liven up you sad clowns," he said with a grin and glanced over his shoulder, "Barbara! Come on over!"

The hand that was rubbing Liam's shoulder gripped it tight enough to almost pop the joint and Liam yelped in pain. Harry mumbled an apology, seeing the girl come running up with her pink dress fluttering with each bounce and skip. Niall was growing pale, shiver of sweat falling down his face as the girl went up to give him a hug.

"Isn't this fun? Now we can see each other so much more!" she chirped and Niall stared in shock, eyes flickering over to the furious boyfriend beside him and he gently pushed Barbara away.

"Right, right," he mumbled and Barbara smiled, going over to stand by Stacy and began to make a conversation. Harry rolled his eyes, oh well, whores of a feather must flock together he supposed.

"She isn't going to make an impact in our relationship, we can get over this," Niall mumbled into Harry's chest and Harry sighed.  
______________________________________________________________________________

"Lots of things we need to get over. Her, your parents... Andrew... "

"Do you think he really did move? Do you think-"

"I don't want to," Harry said quietly. He'd seen the bruises and horrible marks on Andrew's skin whenever the boy changed out of shirts. He didn't want to think about it, what could have happened, what might have happened. Because it was just frightening Niall, the thought that someone would hurt their own son because they loved a boy.

Niall's parents wouldn't hurt him. Harry would make sure of that.

He gave the boy a gentle squeeze and kissed his lips, "I'm going to head home, okay? Just... just get some sleep."

"Okay... bye Harry," Niall said shyly and Harry smiled. Niall was cute like this, this kind of shy and secretive side that Harry never seen before. He kissed his lips again, lingering on them a little bit longer to revel in the softness.

"Love you babe."

"I'm not a girl."

"Honeybunch?" Harry teased and Niall rolled his eyes, hitting Harry in the side of his arm.

"Nialler would do just fine," Niall said with a blushing smile that Harry nodded and delivered one more kiss to the teen's lips before grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, heading down the hallway and out the door onto the streets where it was dark and cold. He didn't drive up to the studios today, he liked walking down late at night. Gave him more opportunity to think about some things that were cluttering his mind. Like where he was going to live at in California, maybe on the beach or close by. Or maybe somewhere in Hollywood if he could afford it. Or maybe he'll move up north to San Francisco where all those hippies and beatniks and 'commie-loving rebels' are at. Yeah, that sounded like fun, Niall would love it up there. Free love and everything like that. He let a sigh slip through his lips, the scent of a burning cigarette beginning to waft into his nose.

"Hey," he heard a mumble and Harry turned, seeing Louis leaning against the dirty wall with cigarette between his fingers. Harry mumbled out a 'hey' in response and Louis' eyes flickered around.

"He isn't with me," Harry replied, knowing the boy was looking for Liam and Louis blushed, even in the darkest of night Harry could see the skin tinting a rosy red.

"... I really want to talk to him."

"Look, he's just not in a good mood. Don't bother him-"

"But I want to talk to him! I want to know if he's alright! I see him moping around on the television, what's going on! Did that fat pig say something to him? Huh?"

"... His boyfriend is gone, okay?"

Louis stared at Harry for a couple of seconds before his nostrils flared and he gritted his teeth.

"That bastard, how dare he hurt him. I'm going to wring his little neck out-"

"His father probably beat you to it," Harry hissed and Louis paused in a slight stupor, "Louis, Andrew got beaten for being with Liam. He's gone because his father caught him with all of us and now Liam is upset because he thinks he's probably hurt or worse. So just shut up, you don't know anything."

"I would if Liam would just talk to me!" Louis shouted, Harry hearing a desperate squeak in the yell. "I haven't talked to him and he just ignores me and I... I want to be with him. I do like him, I love him. But I'm... it's just not easy okay! It's not easy for me to just go over and kiss him without people yelling or shunning or saying we're going to Hell or whatever, I don't want to hear that! Maybe if people wouldn't care or if they could just leave us alone, then I would be with him. But look at how they're treating those Orientals, those Negros, those Mexicans. They treat them second class, they'll treat us like we're possessed! My mother is going to be disgusted by me, my little sisters wouldn't want me as their brother, my dad would beat me if he was even there, I don't-" Louis sucked in a breath as a sob exited in the same go, forcefully rubbing at his eyes and continued,

"I hate this, I hate this. I hate that he is just so damn naïve to think that everything is alright about our relationship when so many people think it's disgusting and immoral and won't leave us alone! People are already going to look at me weird because I'm not with a girl. They'll ridicule us, they'll ostracize us, they'll tie us up and ship us off to the crazy house so we can be tested upon and rehabilitated so we can 'think right'. Harry... I'm just... I want him back but I'm just so... "

Harry watched as Louis' shoulders shook and he heard a couple of strangled whines coming from the boy's hanging head and Louis stomped the ground a couple of times to let out all of the frustration boiling up inside and Harry sighed, walking over and letting a hand gently rub Louis' back.

"It's alright, okay?... Just try and talk to him the next time you see him, okay? And this time, just tell him how you feel. Because I'm sure he really wants to cry on someone's shoulder right now about everything that is happening," Harry said with a concerned smile and he heard Louis sniffle a bit. Harry rolled his eyes, arms now wrapping around the slender frame and pulled Louis into a hug, smelling the deep leather as he buried his nose in the crook of his neck. Louis shuddered but then relaxed, letting out deep breaths and feeling himself beginning to loosen up with each ticking moment going by. "It's alright, okay? It's alright."

"... Harry-"

"Hey queers!" a voice shouted and Louis pushed Harry away in fright, eyes widening and Harry groaned. Louis looked over at the brunette, realizing the action and gave an apologetic look. Harry just hoped Louis wouldn't do that with Liam, that would just ruin everything. He turned to the source of the voice, frowning when he saw that it was Zayn approaching and laughing his head off. "Man, the look on your faces! Priceless!"

Harry grabbed at the boy's jacket, slamming him up against the wall and Zayn gave a small yelp as Harry glared. "You little shit, how about I knock that smile off your face?"

"Hey, hey! Take it easy! I was going to find Louis so we can go to the park," Zayn said with a smile, tilting his head, "Heard that the gang over there is weak and we can have that as our new hangout."

"You and Louis? You two can't take on a gang by yourselves," Harry observed and Zayn smirked.

"You want in? Got a knife you can use," Zayn said with a stupid grin and Harry rolled his eyes, letting go of the boy and turning to Louis.

"If you're smart, you'll go home. Both of you," Harry said sternly and Zayn rolled his eyes.

"You're not my ma, I'm going," Zayn replied, shrugging his shoulder and turning on his heel to walk out the door. He turned to face Harry and Louis, eyebrow raised. "You're free to come along."

"The only reason why I'll be coming along is so you don't get your head beaten in," Harry said with a scowl, taking a cigarette out of his pants pocket to smoke and Zayn smirked. Louis sucked in a breath, trying to wipe away anymore tears before looking over at the two brunettes.

"Let's go then."  
______________________________________________________________________________

The park was dark and empty, save for a couple of college guys sitting by the fountain laughing at something the tallest one was talking about. Harry couldn't really hear their conversation, he was slowly approaching with Zayn a bit ahead and Louis lagging behind. The men watched them while the tallest one went on about his story, now hearing how some girl that was staying at his home screwed up on dinner again. The tallest one finally turned when Zayn passed by him, giving an intense scowl.

"What are you punks doing here?" he asked and Zayn so haughtily puffed his chest and raised his fist.

"We wanna fight," Zayn said with a toothy smile and the men laughed.

"Beat it, we don't have time to be playin' with some babies like you," one of the men grunted, large and burly and Zayn growled. The taller one snorted, turning his back on the teens to continue about his story.

"And that baby of hers is such a little brat, Richie, Ronald, something. Always screaming about 'Papa', had to give him a couple of slaps to shut him up," he gritted out and that was when Harry's eyes widened. A girl with a baby staying at some college guy's house... Cara. A baby the man was disciplining because they wanted their father... Robert.

He was hitting his son.

Harry didn't know what happened, he was a good distance from the men in the beginning, but somehow he was up close with fist buried in the taller one's cheek and sending him tumbling to the ground. At this, all of the men jumped up with fists raised and Zayn and Louis raised theirs. And soon, it turned into a brawl, four on three. Fists and feet were kicking and swinging roughly and wildly, hitting the air before it made contact with a body. Harry felt a couple of knuckles hitting at his sides but it would turn into him swiping fists at the others, now his only priority to get Louis and Zayn out of there alive. These guys weren't weak, they were strong and any punch they gave made Harry's side sore and legs almost crumble from the weight of his sore body. He could see one of the men on the ground now, the fight was more even and he smiled a bloodied lip smile. Maybe things would be okay after all.

Then he heard Louis scream out, "Harry, watch out!"

And Harry felt the sharpest pain in his back followed by a wetness of blood and his breath caught in his throat, finding it very hard to breath. The switchblade was jutting out of the leather, he could feel the material getting more soaked in the blood as he stumbled forward to the fountain and could hear Louis and Zayn screaming loudly, though they sounded so far away.

And everything seemed so much darker.  
______________________________________________________________________________

Niall held the pillow close to his chest, cuddling it and imagining that it was the greaser that he was smitten with. He smiled lightly, awaiting for Harry to come over to his home to study outside underneath the old tree where the homemade swing swayed back and forth by the cool fall breeze, even though it wouldn't be until tomorrow. And maybe, Harry would push him on the old swing, though the rope was slowly getting weaker and weaker with each joyful push. Niall didn't care though, those moments were the times that he felt like nothing could bother him in the world. Maybe he should check to see if he could come early.

Niall tossed the pillow aside and hurried out of his bedroom down the stairs to the nearest telephone to call the Styles residence and speak with the teenager. Only when he reached the living room, his mother was standing by the phone and trying to offer words of solace to the other person on the line. Niall stood quietly, though bouncing his feet in slight eagerness at calling Harry. Only when he heard a soft, "Goodbye Anne," did he begin to feel a bit nervous.

And slightly sick to his stomach.

The woman turned, hand over her heart and shaking her head in disappointment.

"That was Mrs. Styles, poor dear," she said softly and Niall gulped, the sound sounding louder in his ears than in actuality. "Her son is in the hospital."

Now Niall's heartbeat was sounding louder in his ears and he felt faint, trying to steady himself on the cream frame of the doorway.

"W-What happened to him?" Niall stuttered out and she sighed.

"He got into a fight with a couple of greasers and one of them pulled a knife out on him," she explained and crossed her arms, "he's one of those greasers too. To think that the Styles pulled this over our eyes, I feel sorry for them. Their son probably is promiscuous too, and I think I did smell cigarette on him when we first met. And to think you were friends, oh my," she said with a shake of her head and Niall felt his heart not gaining any speed, in fact moving as a slow beat with each shaky breath.

"M-Mother-"

"I don't want him being a bad influence on you. Unlike him, you actually have a future ahead of you. His kind will end up in the gutter or dead before they're thirty."

"I-I need to see him," Niall choked out and his mother raised an eyebrow, placing hands on her hips.

"You will not. He is a terrible bad influence and I don't want you having any part with him at all."

"Mother, please. You don't understand, I need to see him," Niall begged.

"No, Niall. And that's that."

"Mother please! I need to see him!"

"What do you need to see him so badly for?" his mother asked with sternness and Niall's mind was too frantic to think about the words coming out of his mouth.

"Because I love him!" Niall shouted and then hands slapped over his mouth in shock. Mrs. Horan stared at her son, thin hands going to cover her red lipsticked mouth in shock at her son's outburst and Niall breathed deeply. "Mother, let me explain-"

"Niall, how could you say something like that! My son, my baby, my... oh my God. No! No you do not love this ruffian!"

"Yes I do, mother. Please, please just let me explain-"

"You will not see him! Niall, you are just confused. We need to go to Pastor David and tell him your problem and maybe see about counseling and-"

"Please no, mother. I just need to see him-"

"No! No! You will not! Bobby! Bobby!" his mother screamed for his father and Niall's eyes widened, quickly turning on his heel and trying to run for the front door. His father came from the kitchen, smashing into his son and placing hands on the struggling teen.

"Son? What's going on? What's wrong?" his father calmly asked and Niall felt his eyes beginning to water as his mother raced into the hallway.

"Bobby, we need to take Niall to the clinic right away!" his mother frantically said and Niall began to struggle against his father's grip.

"No I don't! Mother, Father, please let me go! Let me go! I need to see Harry! I need to see him! Please!"

"What's going on? What's-"

"Our son is sick! He's in love with the Styles' boy! He needs help!" his mother interrupted and Niall could see his father's eyes widening.

"Please let me go! Let me go!" Niall screamed, kicking furiously. He felt his father trying to drag him away back into the living room and away from the door for Niall to run out of while his mother continued to scream and shout and cry about how long was this going on? How long did Niall feel this way about Harry? How long has her perfect son felt such a sinful emotion towards a boy that was doing horrid things? What were Harry and Niall really doing when they went away? Oh, her imagination went wild with the horrid and sexual situations her innocent son could have been in. And Niall was crying and screaming, kicking his legs out and arms trying to flail about to break free of his father's grip. The limbs didn't hit anything except for one picture.

A picture of Niall at 5, his mother and his father and his elder brother at 18, smiling and so happy and the portrait fell and the glass shattered.


	14. P.S. I Love You

It felt strange. Everything felt so... strange. There were noises, people talking in frantic mumbles instead of clear words that he could understand. But he couldn't open his eyes, his lids feeling heavy and hard to lift. But he felt someone beginning to rub at his still hand, mumbling his name in a hopeful tone and he found his eyes lifting at their voice, perhaps in hopes that it was Niall that was by his side and holding his hand. The light stung, he felt himself grit his teeth tight and groan in slight pain and shadows began to crowd around him. Harry's eyes began to clear and sort out the faces looking down at him. One was his mother, make-up smearing down her face from her tears. Another face was his father, his usually collected and haughty face that Harry inherited now looking heart-stricken. And then there were two faces that he wasn't expecting to see, both of them looking at Harry not with concern but of smugness.

Gemma and her husband.

The Styles began to back away, trying not to crowd the youngest member any more and Harry struggled to sit up, still feeling the soreness in his back and he grunted in pain. Mrs. Styles wiped at her eyes, sniffling into her handkerchief as her son rolled his eyes at her despair.

"We thought that we were going to lose you, my little baby-"

"I'm not dead, mom. Stop sobbing," Harry said dryly and Mr. Styles gave his son a stern look.

"Harry, she's your mother. She can cry over you if she likes. And you young man, if you weren't in this hospital bed with a punctured lung, you would have been in a world of punishment."

"Oooh, is that why these two are here?" Harry said with a frown, pointing at his sister and her husband sitting across from him and Gemma rolled her eyes at her baby brother's malice.

"We're here because mother wanted to let us know that our brother got into another fight and managed to get himself stabbed," Gemma said with a frown and Harry mirrored it. What, was she too busy getting strung out on heroin and marijuana to even have a thought about Harry? And he didn't want to see his parents, they were probably more upset that Harry Styles was the one that got into a fight and stabbed. Oh, the housewifes will be gossiping about this for weeks and Mr. and Mrs. Styles are going to have to bear with it.

Which they won't like one bit.

None of these people were really for him.

Harry sighed as his mother sniffled into her hanky, letting out a sigh.

"Harry, this lifestyle of yours needs to change. What if you were shot? Or if you were beaten to death? I don't want you living like this, I want my little boy to be just as successful as his family," she said with a sad sigh and Harry tried his best to not roll his eyes. He really wished he could just feign himself slipping into a coma so they would have to be ushered out of the room and give him time to think. Does Niall know that he is in the hospital? Where did Louis and Zayn go? Was Robert alright? He wanted to think about those questions instead of his family's intrusion on his life.

"Do you guys have anywhere else to be?" Harry asked and his parents frowned.

"Harry, we are concerned about your health! Stop trying to shoo us away like we are nuisances!" his mother cried and Harry's mind hissed out 'You are' but his lips just groaned out.

"Do I have any other visitors?"

"A couple of boys and girl with her brother. Harry-"

"Send them in and let me talk to them. Alone," Harry stressed and Mrs. Styles' lips twisted and curled until she sighed and got up from her seat, patting her daughter on the back and her husband moving to walk out of the hospital room with his wife. Gemma and her husband were giving him snide looks before turning to their mother and gently patting on her back, probably whispering how she did it right the first time with Gemma, Harry was always going to be a mistake.

Harry just gritted his teeth and sat in silence for the others to come into the room so he could talk with them. He sat and sat, feeling the searing pain of the knife wound in his back and trying to take slow breaths, eyes flickering to the door as the wood moved and in first stepped Zayn and Louis, Liam slowly walking inside with head held down. The brunette watched as his greaser friends rushed to the bed, crouching beside and looking at Harry with wide eyes.

"Are you okay? You're okay right?" Zayn asked nervously.

"I'm in a hospital bed, moron," Harry snapped and Zayn blushed before looking down at the sterile sheets.

"M' sorry. I... you don't have to worry about that guy any more. We took care of him," Zayn said quietly and Harry raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's just say you weren't the only one that got knifed in the back," Zayn said with a humorless smile.

"And the throat," Louis added, blank expression on his face as Harry groaned, tanned hands going up to his face to give a rub and think things over again. Idiots, the both of them. "No one saw us, his friends ran away-"

"You idiots. You fucking idiots," Harry grumbled through his fingers and Louis fell silent, pale fingers going through the fabric. "Zayn, get out of the room for a sec."

"What? But I-"

"Just step outside and talk to Cara."

"I'm not talking-"

"Dammit, just do it!" Harry screamed and Zayn quickly scurried out of the room, Liam beginning to follow close behind but Harry called out to him. "Liam, you stay."

He could see Liam heaving in a big sigh and he turned, face still turned downwards and slowly trotted over to the side where Zayn was kneeling. "... Did you two talk?"

"A-About what?" Liam stuttered out.

"I know about you two and what you think about each other. I'm asking if you two managed to talk."

"Harry, I don't think-"

"Liam," Harry said softly and the boy finally looked over at him, the brown orbs looking so afraid for Harry's safety and nervous with Louis' presence. Harry looked over at Louis, the boy staring at Liam so wanting and he sighed. "Louis, you made this so much harder. Why?"

"Because you're my friend. No one hurts my friend," Louis said sternly.

"But now look at you, you and Zayn are going to be wanted for manslaughter-"

"No one saw us, I swear."

"Those guys could point us out though as being the ones that were fighting with them. Louis-"

"Then I'll run away! Dye my hair, change my name, I don't know... " Louis mumbled and Harry could see Liam tensing at that. He gave a small smile.

"Liam, do you have anything to say about that?" Harry asked and Liam blushed, furiously shaking his head.

"I-If he wants to be an fugitive then fine... I-I don't care if he leaves," Liam said, Harry hearing every bit of fear and hurt in the boy's words and Louis looked over at him. Slowly, he got up from his crouching position and walked over to Liam, stopping close in front of him and letting hands drift onto his cheeks. Liam was breathing slowly, eyes flickering over to look at Harry as Louis' fingers edged into his hair and began to pull Liam's head forward until the chapped lips pressed lightly against the soft ones. Liam's eyes were wide open as Louis kissed him, Harry trying his best to look away to give the couple some privacy but green eyes always looking over to see Louis holding his body close and lips almost telling a little message. 'I love you. I'm so sorry. I love you so much. I want you. I want to be with you. I want you to love me back. I can't go a day without thinking about you. I don't want you to ever feel upset again. I adore everything about you. I'm sorry. I love you, I love you, I love you'.

And Harry couldn't help but smile when he saw Liam's eyes falling and lips beginning to move against Louis' with ease and love.

The two separated, Louis' arms wrapped around Liam and the younger boy pushing against Louis, and Liam blinked.

"Louis," he breathed and Louis kissed his nose.

"Not now... I'm sorry," he said quietly and Liam bit his lip, burying his face into Louis' chest and Harry could hear the boy beginning to sob.

"You can't go, please don't go. Please don't leave, not you too," Liam cried and Louis sighed, hugging the boy tight.

"It's alright... we'll figure things out... let's give Harry some time to sleep."

"Can you get Cara if she's still out there?" Harry asked and Louis nodded, slowly directing Liam out of the room, still sniffling and Harry closed his eyes. Where was Niall? Where was he? He must know about something, his mother may be secretive about the things that happen to Harry but the woman knows how to flap her yap. Especially when it will make it seem like she and him were the victims of the situation and Harry didn't do a thing wrong. He smirked, ha, a girl and her brother. More like the mother of his child and grandson. Speaking of which, the door opened again and Cara was hesitantly walking inside with Robert patting at her chest happily. Harry smiled when he saw the child, possibly the only other boy to make him smile brighter than the sun.

He raised his arms out. "Give him to me."

"Harry, you're injured," she said quietly and Harry frowned.

"Because I punched that bastard for hurting him. Give him to me now," he said sternly and Cara frowned herself before walking over and settling Robert in between his legs. The baby glanced around, confused, then turned his head to look over at Harry and Harry remained silent, green eyes searching over the boy's face for any marks or bruises to kiss and nurture away. The baby raised his hand, fingers opening and closing.

"Papa," the baby said and Harry felt his heart jump in his chest and his hands went over Robert's sides. At this, Robert began to cry in fear and Harry pulled the baby up to his chest, ignoring the pain and kissed Robert's cheeks.

"It's okay, it's okay. Call me 'Papa', I won't ever hurt you if you call me that," Harry whispered, kissing the baby's cheeks and Robert sniffled, little hands touching gently at Harry's face and fingers dragging along Harry's lips.

"Papa."

"Yes, Papa. Papa is going to protect you. Papa is never going to hurt you, I love you," Harry said, kissing the cheeks until he heard the crying stop and the hands stilling on his face. And instead of the tiny fingers touching his cheek, it was tiny lips that were leaving slobbing kisses of affection that Harry smiled at. His son continued to blow raspberries into his skin, Harry would have found the act to be gross from any other baby but from his son it was simply beautiful, and his eyes went over to see Cara standing awkwardly by the bed.

"Why did you do this to yourself?" she asked and Harry sighed.

"For him. I don't care what you do, you're not my wife or my girlfriend. But he is my son, and I'm not going to lie down knowing that my son was being hurt."

"I had everything under control."

"No you didn't. You were getting beat, Robert was getting beat. But now, it won't be a problem anymore."

"Why? Because your friends killed him? And now we don't have a home to stay at," she said and Harry scoffed.

"I told you, you two can come with me to California."

"And I told you I can take care of us both, Harry."

"Then I'm taking him," Harry said, hand going through Robert's hair and Cara's eyes widened.

"You won't! He's my son!"

"And I won't let him get hurt by anyone else again. Either you come along or I take him," Harry said with a frown.

"You can't do this. You're not taking him away from me."

"It's for the best, Cara."

"No it isn't! You can't take away my son!"

"He's my son too, Cara. And I'm trying my best to be a father and take care of him. Cara, just please. Come with me and Niall. You don't even have to live with us, I just need to be able to know that he's alright and that he's not getting hurt. Can you understand?"

"... But he's... I didn't mean it... "

"I know you didn't mean to. But it's over and I just need you to take care of him while I recover. You can stay with me or Louis or something... things are going to be alright, okay? I know you don't want to think you're a bad mother and you're not, Cara. I just want my son safe," he said softly and Cara let out a deep breath, holding her torso and looking down at the floor. Harry grunted a bit in pain, Robert cocking his head to the side and placing a hand on his chest as Harry let out a strangled cough and Cara quickly removed the child from Harry's chest.

"Papa! Papa!" Robert cried and Cara gently bounced him as Harry sucked in a breath, looking over at the child with a weak smile.

"Papa's fine, baby... Cara, was there anyone else out there? A boy in a suit?"

"No... it was just your friends and your family," she said quietly and Harry closed his eyes. Niall wasn't here, something must be wrong. Why else would Niall not be there, right? He sighed, maybe he was doing something with his parents, hopefully things were alright. The last thing he needs right now along with a punctured lung, two friends committing homicide and his future with his son was something happening to the boy he loved.  
______________________________________________________________________________

In the Horan's backyard, there was a large oak tree that held a homemade swing that hasn't been used in about two weeks. The rope was weak and the wood creaked and was old as nimble fingers undid the knots in the wood and let the plank fall to the grassy ground. A stool was propped by the wood, Niall climbing onto it and steadying himself as he wrapped the rope around his neck and began to tie it. The rope was coarse and it almost burned against the pale skin but at the moment, Niall didn't care any longer what the rope and the swing used to symbolize, now it only meant one thing.

His way to finally escape and be with Harry.

He didn't know what happened to Harry, his parents pulling him off of the show and drove him around to prevent Niall from walking down to the studio. He lost all contact with Liam, with anyone from the show. He lost contact with the Styles family in general and his mother went out of her way to make sure everywhere Niall went outside the house, she was right by her son's side. Harry was probably dead, Harry was probably alive. Niall didn't know, he just didn't know and he felt the rope scrape at his neck as he pulled the end through the loop. He was lucky to feign that the outburst was a mistake, that all his mother needed to do was recite verses and lay hands upon him and try to remove any part of the temptation from his life. But now... now he couldn't handle it.

The noose was finished and perfectly tight around his throat, Niall feeling his heart racing and trying to take in a couple of last breaths. His mother would be heartbroken to wake up from her nap to find that her last son was hanging in the tree by the rope of a swing he used to play on when he was little. His father would cry to find his son dead, his only son left that he wanted to see grow up to be a man and with sons of his own. Niall closed his eyes, he wanted to escape so bad. He never meant to hurt anyone, but it seemed like there wasn't a person he wouldn't be hurting. He'd hurt Harry if he obeyed his parents. He'd hurt his parents if he went with Harry. No one was going to have a happy ending, no matter how hard he tried. He wasn't perfect, he wasn't the same anymore. He was a despicable being, weak in Harry's eyes and a monster in his parent's.

And he kicked the stool from underneath his feet.

He couldn't breathe, he was opening his mouth and his strangled chokes were coming in loud and sounding frightening in his ears. He felt his brain swell and his arms began to flail around wildly, hands naturally going up to the noose to grab on it but his will was trying to overpower the fingers from yanking the noose from around his neck. He felt his fingers growing numb, his eyes growing heavy and his brain thumping loudly with each little gasp of air his body was so desperately fighting to get. Slowly, ever so slowly... 

And the rope snapped.

Niall came tumbling to the ground, trying to close his mouth but the body part disobeyed, taking in large breath after large breath of air and coughing fits came over him. The loop was somehow looser than before, the rope's weakness finally giving in and Niall wanted to scream and cry but pursed his lips. He didn't need his mother catching him, her son attempting to kill himself. Now that would be called to bring him to a psychiatric ward, and he didn't want to go without finding out about Harry. He couldn't leave, he just couldn't. He... 

Niall raised his hands to his face and let out a shaky breath, holding back a tear threatening to come out of his eyes as his heart regained normal beating.

"Niall."

He glanced up, looking around at the sound of his voice in slight fear but noticing that there wasn't anyone around him. He sat up, rope still around his neck and glanced over at the backdoor of the house in slight confusion, getting up onto his feet to walk inside and look around for the person that was calling for him. He tip-toed through the halls, his mother still sleeping and he walked past his room and past a closed door that he felt he needed to open. His hand gently twisted the gold knob, pressing open the door and stepping inside the old room. His brother's old room.

It looked so clean and ready for the eldest son to come home from the war, the bed neatly done and ready for a body to plop down on it in sleepiness or a couple of bags thrown on top of it. Instead, it was bare and Niall felt so cold just standing in there. His eyes flickered over to the closet, slowly walking over to it and opening it to see his brother's clothes that his mother didn't have the heart to get rid of. Niall didn't want to wear them, he didn't want the reminder. As he opened the door, something fell down and he jumped out of the way, looking down at his feet to see that it was a book. Niall slowly picked it up, flipping it open to see that it was a photo album.

There were old pictures of his brother and his friends, pictures of his brother with his best friend in particular. The two teens were smiling in each photo with arms either around their waists or shoulders. Niall remembered how his brother would go on and on about them two traveling the world together, his brother making an itinerary that was never completed. Then there was maybe one picture of him and his girlfriend, his elder brother just looking dignified and slightly stone faced. Funny how it only seemed the best friend was the one truly upset about his brother's death and the girlfriend didn't even seemed fazed by it. He continued to flip through the photo book until something fell out, Niall seeing that it was a letter.

A letter addressed to him.

Niall gulped, hand trembling as he bent down to pick it up and opened it, heart faltering when he saw his brother's scrawled handwriting.

Baby Brother,

I hope everything is well with you, I know that it's kind of silly that I'm writing a letter to you when I could just walk down the hall. But I'm going to be going to camp and I don't know... I want to say goodbye to you since I'm going to be gone in the morning. I'll be back soon, ready to give you a push on the swing out back. And I want you to know that I love you, so much. I always will, no matter what you grow up to do or become. I know you'll make the right choices and I'm going to miss you these couple of years. Just be nice to Mom and Dad, don't give them a hard time while I'm gone. Who knows, maybe you'll find someone cute that makes you smile while I'm gone. Not that you're interested in that kind of stuff, but you never know. I'll be back soon, promise.

Love, Greg

Niall gripped the letter tightly, why did he never get this? He woke up that morning wondering where his brother went and his mother told him that he was just going on a long trip. It took Niall a couple of months to find out that his brother was shipped off to war. He wanted to scream again, his parents kept this letter from him... but why? Because Niall wouldn't understand? He gently folded the note and slipped it back into the photo album, finding a second letter but addressed to his brother's best friend. The letter looked ready to mail off but it never made it to the mailbox and Niall's curiosity got the better of him as he tore it open to read the note.

Steven,

I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going through with this, but I knew you would do everything you can to stop me from doing so. I wanted to be like my grandfather and serve in the military, to serve my country and I wasn't going to let some stupid rule stop me. I'm sorry I had to keep a distance to avoid suspicion and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. But I promise once the war is over and I'm back home, we'll go to that diner you like and I'll order you the biggest malt they have. And we can get started on our world adventure. We can send letters, though the messages will have to be neutral, but I won't ever stop writing to you. But for now, just treasure these few words until I'm home again.

-Greg

P.S. I love you

Niall's breath caught in his throat, the rope around his neck still wrapped around it loosely as he read the post statement over and over again. Three simple words and they meant so much to the teenage standing in the empty room. His brother... his brother was-

"Niall?" he heard a voice from behind him and he quickly turned, seeing his mother standing in the doorway and eying the rope around his neck. Niall dropped the letter, staring at his mother with wide eyes.

"Mother, please wait-"

"My baby! Please don't! I need to call the services!" she shouted and Niall jumped out of the way of his mother's grasp but the woman quickly wrapped arms around him and holding him tight.

"Please mother! Please stop it! Let me go! Let me go!"

"No! You tried to hurt yourself all because of this ruffian! I knew it, I knew we should have taken you to the ward just in case, we need to go sweetie! It's for your own good!"

"You don't understand! You never understood!"

"I am your mother Niall! I am doing what is best for you!" she screamed and Niall screamed back, pushing his mother away and beginning to run down the stairs. His legs took him out of the front door, down the street where the rope finally fell off of him, down the road past the old bar and strip joint, down and far away from suburbs that Niall called home.

Down to wherever he could escape.


	15. Make Right Now Last

Missing.

Or at least, Harry will admit that Niall went missing. The teenager's parents on the other hand say that he's hiding and doesn't want to be found.

It's been a while since Harry had even heard any word about Niall, the only people that seem to keep him informed was Mr. & Mrs. Horan, the couple checking regularly at the Styles residence for small talk and snacks but Harry knew the real reason why they were here. To see if Niall was taking refuge with the person he was in love with. He didn't know how they'd found out but he knew they were aware of what was going on, Mrs. Horan always giving him less than pleasant glares and Mr. Horan's face growing red with anger whenever in Harry's presence. Not like he knows where Niall was, and if he did he wouldn't bring him here for his parents and pesky sister that won't go back to her own life to find out.

He was going to keep Niall safe. There was only three more weeks left til he can say he is a graduate.

Harry leaned into the bedpost, quietly humming to himself while his parents were gone and his sister was busy not ridiculing him about his sexuality when Mom and Dad weren't looking. He glanced over at the road map that was going to be used for the trip, the jar of gas money and food money covered up by a pillow case. He was going to drive non-stop and if he got too tired, they'll pull off the side to rest up. And once they get to California, they'll find a cheap apartment to make their stay until Harry was able to find a job. Things were going to work, he had everything planned, he just needed to wait for the right moment. And find Niall.

The doorbell rang and he groaned, long legs swinging out over his bed to get up and walk down the stairs to answer the door, giving a little scratch to the back of his neck as his other hand opened the front door. His hand stilled once he saw Niall standing in front of him, face dirty and clothes all wrinkled and the boy was trembling.

"Harry," Niall choked out, voice hoarse and Harry quickly pulled him inside and into a strong hug, arms squeezing Niall tightly against his chest as the teen sniffled loudly and coughed. His hand went up to cup the cold cheek, thumb brushing over the dirt that was lying on the skin.

"What happened to you, why are-"

"They know. They know and they were going to take me away from you, I can't leave you. I can't leave. Harry~" Niall croaked into Harry's chest, the taller male rubbing on Niall's shoulders and trying to soothe his lover as best as possible. He tilted the face upwards to give a small kiss to Niall's nose.

"Hey, hey. Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Harry said softly, scooping the boy up into his arms and carrying him bridal style up the flight of stairs and into the bathroom next to his bedroom. Harry pushed the door open with his foot, settling the teen down on the white tile and walked over to the tub to begin running water. He stuck his hand in the water, turning to ask Niall if he wanted bubbles in his bath when his eyes widened. Niall was stripping himself of the dirty white shirt, pale flesh blistered from not sleeping in a comfortable bed and was beginning to make work of his pants. Niall paused, looking over his shoulder to shyly bat his eyes at Harry.

"What is it?"

"... Nothing just... never seen you naked... I'll leave and give you some privacy," Harry mumbled, getting up and turning off the faucet. He began to walk past Niall but paused when he felt someone grab onto the sleeve of his robe. He turned to look at Niall biting his lip, leaning forward to kiss Harry gently on the lips. Harry's eyes fluttered, missing the way that Niall's lips felt when he kissed him like this, soft and innocent. He pulled away, a tiny pop of their lips sounding in Harry's ears and Niall looked up at him between his eyelashes.

"I want you here," Niall whispered and Harry blushed, feeling the hands roam his torso and remove the robe and plain white wife beater in one swoop. Niall pressed himself against Harry, Harry resting hands on Niall's hips and feeling the smaller boy beginning to push him into the sink counter while attaching his lips onto Harry's neck. The brunette hummed, hands slowly sliding from Niall's hips to grip at the soft cheeks underneath the briefs and beige pants. Harry lowered his head to connect his lips with Niall's once more, feeling the nimble fingers tugging down at his boxers and pajama pants. He shivered when the cool air hit his thighs as the fabric slid down his legs and he groped at Niall's backside tighter.

"What is all this for?" Harry mumbled against Niall's lips and Niall sucked in a breath, looking into the green eyes.

"Because I don't know if I could ever do this with you again," Niall said softly and Harry sighed. He glanced at the bath, the water still warm and he rubbed Niall's side.

"Let's get you in there. We can talk," Harry said, though feeling his cock beginning to rise and Niall nodded. He undone his pants and pulled down the beige slacks and underwear, Harry raking in all of Niall's nude form. Niall let out a small sigh and turned to get into the bathtub, sticking a foot inside cautiously before submerging himself in the warm water. Harry made his way to the tub too, testing the temperature of the water before trying to squeeze in the tub along with Niall. It was a tight fit, but Harry managed to get in with their legs tangling with each other and Niall resting against Harry's chest.

Harry grabbed a towel and began to scrub at the boy's skin. "Why do you think we couldn't do this again?"

"... Because my parents... I ran away. I ran away and was living in the alleyway and I don't want them to hate me Harry. I don't want them to hate me, I-"

"Shhh," Harry said quietly, taking some water and pouring it on Niall's body, scooping up some more to pour over Niall's head and begin to wash the blonde's hair. "If they hate you for who you really are, then we can't do anything about it. Niall, I'm going to love you, you don't need to worry about them-"

"But-"

"I'm going to protect you and I'm going to love you. That's good enough... close your eyes," Harry replied, scooping up some more water to rinse Niall's hair and the soapy water streamed down his face. Niall shook his head a bit, hair whipping around and splashing water on the ground. Harry smiled a bit, though it faltered when Niall shifted and turned around, the pale boy resting hands on Harry's strong shoulders and looking at him with sad blue eyes.

"But what if they find me? What if they take me away?"

"They won't ever take you away from me. And if they do... then let's make right now last," Harry whispered and Niall breathed, slowly settling down in Harry's lap and surely feeling the tan boy's erection brushing against his entrance. He gasped the same time Harry's eyes fluttered in arousal.

"Yeah... let's," Niall said softly, slowly rocking forward and moaning slightly. Harry watched his lover closely, then leaned up forward to deliver a soft kiss on Niall's lips, growing slightly surprised when the lips parted immediately and his tongue slipped into Niall's mouth to swirl and prod and taste the boy that was running wet hands through his hair and gripping at the brown locks tightly. Their lips were meshing and sucking almost in perfect sync, Harry feeling Niall's length pressing against his stomach and he let out a moan in his throat that Niall swallowed and echoed back. Harry pulled away, taking a few needed breaths of air and looked up at Niall once more.

"We should get out of here before the water gets too cold," Harry mumbled and Niall nodded, slowly getting out of the tub and Harry following right afterwords. Niall was drying himself off with a towel while Harry drained the bathwater, then wrapping arms around the nude boy and kissed on his cheek and collarbone. Niall smiled, turning to reciprocate the hug and snuggle deep into Harry's body, trying to savor every single second the two had together. Harry let out a shallow breath, grabbing Niall and picking him up bridal style to carry him down the hall to his bedroom. He stumbled a bit over the already packed suitcase once inside, placing Niall down and dragged him over to the bed. The back of his knees collided with the edge and he fell backward with Niall landing on top, lips lightly biting at his and hands still running through Harry's hair.

Niall sat up, letting Harry run hands all along his torso and dip fingers in on the curve of his hips and run along the soft clean skin. Harry never admired someone like this, usually by now he would just be finishing up and both bodies would be covered in sweat and love bites. But now, he was just observing Niall, how the skin pinked when he touched at one part and saw the way Niall shuddered in pleasure. How smooth and almost flawless the skin was, how he was getting a different thrill of just touching Niall. It made Harry's heart race and Niall began to touch at Harry's torso, the two teens engaging in just heavy petting for a couple of minutes. Harry's hands ran down Niall's thighs, green eyes flickering up to Niall's face before slowly drifting in between the limbs and grabbing hold of Niall's erection.

Niall gasped and rested the palm of his hands on blanket, fingers gripping tightly at the sheets as Harry slowly worked his wrist and hand slid up and down the shaft. He found it hard to breathe, stranger still and almost like he was a virgin, hand shaking and mind clouding with each flick of the wrist and light moan from Niall floating into his ears. He didn't know what this effect Niall was having on him, but he liked it, he liked everything that was happening at the moment in time and he was going to make this last as long as he could. His thumb ran over the tip of the cock, feeling in the slit and Niall suppressed a whine of pleasure. Harry removed his hand, placing both of them on Niall's hips to lift the boy up to settle him on the few pillows on the bed. Harry settled in between Niall's legs, kissing down his abdomen and hips. Then his lips went over and kissed lightly on Niall's member, taking the tip in his mouth and lightly sucking.

His eyes would travel to see Niall's face scrunching in pleasure, lips gasping and hands gripping the bedsheets tight. Harry took one of the hands and placed it on his head, Niall's fingers threading through the brown strands and tugging on Harry's hair. Harry's tongue licked along the shaft, head going down far and rising just as slow. His hands were gripping tight on Niall's hips, trying to hold the thrusting hips down as best as he could. He lifted his head a bit more, now only sucking on the head and teeth lightly scraping on the sensitive flesh as green eyes continued to watch Niall's facial expressions and pulled off the member with a loud pop. Harry leaned forward, giving a kiss to Niall's chest and tongue darting out to give one of the nipples a quick lick and lips began to suck while the other hand started to pinch the other bud until it pebbled under his touch. He moved to kiss Niall on the lips softly and then sat up, beginning to dig through his bed stand drawer for a condom and something to use for lubricant. Then he paused when he felt the bed shift and looked over to see Niall's head hovering over his own cock, eyes widening when he felt a warm heat engulf the erection.

"N-Niall," Harry croaked out and Niall hummed, only making Harry's length twitch in excitement. He grunted, hand immediately grabbing on the sheets as Niall did and Niall's head continued to bob up and down, the smaller male swinging a leg over Harry's body and lying on top. Harry's head slumped against the headboard, eyes fluttering as he felt Niall's tongue dragging along a vein and he grunted in pleasure.

"Is this alright?" he heard Niall ask and he opened his eyes to look over at Niall's face, the boy's lips still very close to Harry's cock and the tip leaking pre-cum. Harry nodded, hand going up to touch at Niall's thighs and run along the curve of his bottom.

"Yeah... beautiful," Harry breathed and Niall gave a small smile. Harry gave a small smile back, leaning up to kiss at the soft cheeks, tongue slowly dragging along as he grabbed and spread them. He could feel Niall resuming sucking on his length, moaning a bit and the entire feeling of the situation was making Harry's mind go crazy. He flattened his tongue against Niall's entrance and could feel the boy hum around his cock in pleasure and Harry continued the action, tongue thrusting in and out and matching the way Niall's tongue was dragging up and down. Niall removed his mouth to give an audible moan and Harry stopped as well, gently pushing Niall off of him and resumed to search for a condom. He smirked when he found one, tossing it on top of the nightstand and pulled Niall close to him.

"Ready?" Harry asked and Niall shuddered a bit before giving a weak nod of the head 'yes'. Harry kissed Niall's head, hand trailing down his backside and a finger slowly edging past the ring of muscle. Niall gasped loudly, giving a small moan of pain and Harry rubbed at his back with his other hand. He slowly moved the finger in and out, then added another finger to slowly begin to scissor the writhing boy on top of him. He kissed Niall's shoulder and neck, slowly sliding a third finger and heard a mewl of pleasure from Niall and smiled. He crooked his fingers and moved them in and out of the entrance a lot faster than before, hearing the moans and heavy pants from Niall in his ear and he breathed as he removed the fingers.

Harry grabbed the condom, unwrapping it and unrolling it to slide onto his own throbbing cock, Niall eying the boy closely. Harry looked up at him once the condom was fully on and gently grabbed Niall's hips to place the boy over his erection. "If it hurts too much, just say it and we'll stop," Harry replied. Because the last thing he wanted to do was make another sexual experience together bad for Niall. The brunette nodded and then Harry slowly began to pull Niall down, tip of his erection prodding and sliding into Niall and Harry grunted a bit at the way the boy squeezed around him. Niall was squeezing his eyes tight, teeth gritting and trying to get accustomed to the feeling, eventually fully seated and taking in deep breaths. Harry waited for a while, waited for Niall to get comfortable to the feeling that he hasn't had in three years and the boy looked over at him.

"Okay, I'm ready," Niall breathed out and Harry nodded, lifting Niall up by his hips a short distance and then pulling him back down on his lap. The sound Niall emitted was a cross between a pained gasp and a hurt whine and Harry bit his lip. He repeated the action, this time at a slower speed and Niall let out another pained whine. He gulped, he really was hurting him but he still wanted to go through with this. Niall had his eyes closed most of the time, lips just drawing in deep breaths with each very slow thrust and Harry not hearing for Niall to stop. Maybe because he thought he would disappoint Harry if he told him to stop. No, Harry wanted Niall to enjoy this, he didn't want him suffering through it.

"Niall, do you want to s-stop?" Harry asked, the stutter from the way Niall's insides squeezed in such a way around his length and Niall's eyes fluttered open.

"K-Keep going, I'm fine," Niall breathed out, stifling out a moan as Harry thrust his hips up to meet him halfway. Niall's hands fell on both sides of Harry's head, looming forward and Harry began to thrust up inside of Niall, seeing how Niall's mouth hung open to pant and moan and lips move to sometimes utter 'Fuck' and 'Harry'. Harry felt himself thrusting into the boy faster, the sound of skin on skin slapping entering his ears and felt like it was echoing in the room. Harry had an iron grip on Niall's hips, holding the boy steady while he continued to thrust, growing faster and thrusting harder. It felt amazing, it felt wonderful. It felt so different from any other girl or guy he slept with, it felt amazingly wonderful and way better than any of those times. Because this time, Harry knew he really did love the person that was beginning to breathe and moan his name in pleasure.

"H-Harry. H-Harry," Niall moaned out, Harry pulling Niall back down onto his lap and swiveling his hips to grind down and Harry moaned in pleasure. He scooted up a bit, pushing Niall down to lie on his back and pulled up one of his legs to rest on his shoulder. Harry continued to thrust, seeing the way Niall's face was growing amazingly red and eyes were fluttering like wings. His entire body was turning pink and shining with sweat, arms off to his side and fingers curled into fists that tightened from a hard thrust. His chest rose and fallen with shallow breaths, eyes bright with affection. And Harry loved every single minute of this.

"So good... so good," Harry grunted out, punctuating each word with a thrust that almost made Niall's eyes roll to the back of his head. Harry was sweating, his hair sticking to his forehead and his stomach beginning to feel that familiar bubbling feeling. His free hand snaked in between them, hand going to grab onto Niall's member and pump it out of rhythm with his erratic thrusts. Niall was moaning louder now, the mouth screaming out Harry's name and that only made his hand quicken and his hips slam harder. Harry found his name to sound amazing when Niall was the one saying it, everything about the teen made Harry's heart go wild. And this moment was no exception. He heard Niall say his name with voice so low in his throat and felt the boy's seed spill out onto his hand and onto his own stomach, Niall's body shuddering and insides squeezing so tight that it made Harry's eyes bulge wide.

He continued to thrust, white flashing in his vision before feeling his own body shudder a bit and he let out a shallow breath as Niall's eyes squeezed tight. Harry breathed, slowly pulling out of the boy and sliding off the used condom to toss into the wastebasket on the other side of the room. Niall was breathing heavily, head lolled off to the side and Harry flopped down beside him. The two boys lied there for a while, the only sound was the sound of their breathing and Harry turned his head to look at him.

"You can stay here for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll sneak you back out and you can room with Louis," Harry said. He already knew that Cara and Robert were currently living there, Harry only lucky that Louis' mother was willing to take in a young girl and her 'brother'. He just hoped that she'll let Niall stay too, at least for three more weeks until Harry could graduate. Then, he'll take the three of them off of her hands and they'll be on their way to California. Niall scooted a bit, Harry's arms drifting over him to hold him close, and Niall sighed.

"Okay... I hadn't had a decent night's sleep ever since I ran away... " Niall said quietly and Harry kissed the top of his head. He hummed softly, his own eyes beginning to flutter closed in sleepiness. Then they flew open at a noise.

The noise of a door swinging open.

Both of their heads turned, eyes widening to see Harry's sister staring right at them with a look of surprise, hate, and slight glee.

"Mother! Mother!" Gemma shouted, turning on his heel and Harry swore, heart beginning to race.

Three weeks was now.


	16. Something to Remember Me By

Louis stepped back and forth from the small space of his bed to the old dresser that had a bunch of old paperwork. He could hear downstairs the sounds of the baby crying, with Cara trying to hush him and not supposedly wake Louis when he couldn't sleep right. He hadn't seen Liam in a while, he didn't know what him and Liam were now. They kissed in the hospital room, Liam knew how badly Louis wanted him back, but it seemed like a while for the boy to come close to him again. He just supposed it takes time, he just hoped everything will be alright between the two of them.

He listened to the way the baby's cries grew quieter, but also hearing someone talking downstairs along with the teenage mother and he frowned. She wasn't supposed to be inviting people to his house, his mother was already growing suspicious about her though maintaining a friendly atmosphere around the teen. He stepped out of the bedroom and headed downstairs to see just what was going on, eyes widening a bit when he saw Harry and Niall standing in the living room with clothes ruffled and messed up. The brunette greaser turned to face his friend, a look of mixed anger and sadness in his eyes.

"Hey," Harry said softly and Louis gave a curt nod, eyes flickering between the two boys and trying to figure out just what was going on.

"Hey... what are you-"

"Leaving to California," Harry said and Louis' eyes widened. Harry turned to Cara, the girl holding her child and looking up at Harry with worried brown eyes, "I just wanted to see if you'd take my offer. And if not, I'm taking him with us."

"Harry, please, you can't do that-"

"Yes I can, Cara. I'm going to protect my son-"

"I can protect him, Harry! I can take care of him, he's my son!" Cara shouted and the baby looked between his parents. Then his small hand extended towards Harry, little fingers wiggling.

"Papa," he said quietly and Cara looked at her son in shock while Harry sighed.

"Cara, you can do your best to try and keep me away from him. But do you think that Robert growing up without ever knowing who I was would be the best thing for him? To believe he never had a father that loved him?"

"... No... "

"Just come to California with us. I promise that it's just for his safety and I want to be able to check up on him, okay?" Harry said and Cara let out a soft sigh, holding tightly to Robert and kissing his head.

"... Okay... I'll get our things," she said quietly and Harry smiled a bit, holding his hands out to take his son and Cara let the infant pass over into Harry's warm grasp. She gently pushed past Louis, heading to the guest bedroom while Louis still was staring at the two boys.

"Why are you leaving so soon? I thought-"

"We got caught," Niall spoke up and Harry maintained a firm grasp on Robert with one arm while the other went to gently rub Niall's back. The boy sucked in a deep breath, "W-We... we had sex and Harry's sister caught us and his mother... we had no choice but to run away. M-My parents and H-Harry's parents and... things just got ruined," Niall choked out and Harry continued to soothe the boy while Louis' eyes were wide with surprise and slight fear. So this was it then. This will be the last time he sees Harry, his best friend was running off and who knows when he'll ever cross paths again. Harry looked over at him,

"... There's room for one more in the Thunderbird," Harry softly replied and Louis frowned.

"I can't go, Harry."

"So you know about what you're going to do with the murder?" Harry asked and Niall's eyes flickered over to Louis in surprise.

"Murder?"

"It's nothing, babe. Just something that we need to get past us," Harry replied and Niall looked at Louis for a couple of more seconds before sighing and leaning more into Harry's body. "Look, I know Zayn is already planning to flee to Canada. So I was figuring instead of some frozen wasteland, you'll want to come to California with us and just start a new life."

Louis bit his lip, he really didn't know. There was already a crime report out on the murder and every time Louis heard about it or seen it on the television, he'd get the shivers down his spine. He was only grateful that the guys that they fought were slightly drunk, remembering vaguely the event but not what their faces looked like or any helpful characteristics. But still, it was something he needed to think about. He was thinking about moving to Canada, he was also thinking about just moving out of state, but there was only one thing that made him want to stay right here.

Liam.

He just couldn't leave the boy here alone, especially now that Andrew was gone without a trace and leaving Liam completely vulnerable. Louis didn't want to leave the boy, he didn't want to be away from Liam's presence any longer than he already was. And unlike Louis, Liam had three more years of school to finish before graduating. Harry raised an eyebrow, little smirk coming along his tanned face.

"Thinking about Liam?" Harry asked and Louis blushed, "If you weren't a cradle robber, this wouldn't have been a problem."

"S-Shut up," Louis stuttered out and Niall looked between the two with curious eyes that slowly turned to realization. His lips formed an 'Oh' and he gave a small smile, perhaps of knowing that him and Harry weren't the only young homosexual couple in this town and therefore, not freaks.

"... You don't have to come, I just want you to be alright too."

"I know... do you think he'll be mad? Or my mother? Or my sisters?"

"You think my mother and father aren't pissing their pants and hysterical about me running away?" Harry asked and rolled his eyes, "We're eighteen, we're technically adults now. Who cares what they think anymore, especially when they won't love us for who we are."

Louis didn't know that. His mother never caught on to his true conflicting sexuality, he didn't know how she would react if she found out that he favored a certain boy more than the girls on his street. He didn't know if he would be cast out, put in the mental house, accepted and loved because he was her son, he just didn't know. It wouldn't be fair to say that she wouldn't care, she would always care about Louis and him leaving her alone with his sisters to take care of would be too much. The last thing he wanted to do was become his father and run out on the woman that did so much for him.

"... I don't know, Harry... Liam and Mom... I'm really here for them."

"Do whatever you want. We're heading to San Francisco as soon as the sun goes down. Until then, we're crashing at the old bar and joint. Just picking up Cara and Robert," Harry replied, giving a small kiss to his son's forehead as he said his name and Robert giggled, tilting his face up to kiss Harry on the corner of his mouth and his chin. Louis smiled at the gesture and then bit his lip, hearing Cara coming back into the room with bags in her hand and blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail. She let out a soft sigh, turning to Louis with a little smile.

"Thank you for letting me and my son stay," she said and Louis smiled lightly.

"Any friend of Harry is a friend of mine," Louis replied and she smiled. He turned to Harry, knowing that his face was beginning to grow sullen and he gave a weak smile at the greaser. "So... I guess this is it... take care of yourself out there."

"Take care of yourself here. And don't worry. If you come to San Fran and we just somehow manage to see each other, you're always welcomed at our place," Harry replied, giving a light punch to Louis' arm and the boy smiled. He turned to Niall, the blonde smiling lightly and Louis sighed.

"I'm leaving it up to you to take care of him now, he's my best friend after all," Louis said wryly and Niall smiled, holding onto Harry's arm.

"We'll be fine," he said softly and Louis nodded, taking in a deep breath.

Yeah... things are going to be fine.  
______________________________________________________________________________

The park was cooler that day, the sun slowly treading across the sky and turning from day to night. And as Louis stared ahead at the boy standing underneath the oak tree, he realized that this was it for all of them. He took in a breath, walking over and seeing Liam's head turn from the sound of the old shoes crunching along the leaves. He smiled his bright smile, shyly looking away when Louis smiled back.

"So why'd you invite me out here?" Louis asked and Liam looked up towards the sky.

"Don't know, just felt like a nice day to look at the stars," he said softly and Louis nodded a bit, biting his lip and feeling his heart race.

"... We never did get a chance to do something like this," Louis murmured and Liam cocked his head to the side.

"Well, we'll have a lot more chances to do something like this in the future," Liam replied with a smile that began to falter when Louis didn't smile back, "... Louis, what's wrong?"

"... I was thinking... Niall and Harry are going to California tonight... and I was going to go along with them," Louis replied and the other boy's eyes widened, "Just wait, just wait. It's only until the heat dies down from that murder case and I'll for sure be back here in three years to see you graduate and then we can go off on our own little world adventure or something. Just the two of us, I promise-"

"But that's three years, Louis. What could happen to you or me in three years? You could get sick, you could get hurt, you could get drafted off to war... you might fall in love with someone else... "

Louis scoffed, pulling Liam into his arms and kissing the soft brown locks while Liam breathed in the scent of his coat, "I won't ever find someone else that's better than you. Kind, gentle, innocent, beautiful, I wouldn't want any other person that isn't you, Liam... I promise I'll come back to you and I promise that we'll be together... I love you, Liam."

Liam stiffened in his arms before his own arms wrapped around him tightly and Liam nuzzled into Louis' chest.

"I love you too... I want to give you something," Liam whispered, looking up into Louis's eyes and twinkling, "Something to remember me by."

Louis raised his eyebrow, a trinket or something from Liam? Then the boy leaned upwards to kiss Louis gently on the lips, Liam's tongue pressing through Louis' lips and starting to lap and prod around the warmth of Louis' tongue and let out little whimpers that Louis swallowed. The greaser's hands went down to hold Liam steady, feeling himself being pushed up the tree as the kiss intensified and deepened and his mind slowly being brought into a haze. Liam pulled away, looking up again into Louis' eyes and the elder boy noticed how the bright eyes were slowly growing a little bit darker and he hummed.

Liam pressed his body against Louis', Louis' breath coming out slow as he felt the smaller boy's erection pressing against his thigh and he grunted a bit, shifting his own hips to grind against Liam's in a lewd and dirty fashion. No one else was here at the park, just them two. He felt his chest fluttering, his skin beginning to grow hot and he shed his jacket and pulled the white shirt off of his body along with it. Liam began to kiss Louis' bare chest, lips on the pectoral before moving downwards to his belly button and tongue darting out to lick at the navel. Louis gasped, hands going into Liam's hair to pull and tug as the boy got down on his knees and began to make quick work of Louis' belt and pants. The fingers popped open the button on the denim, yanking down the zipper and grabbed at the brim of the clothing. His fingers hooked around and tugged down, pulling Louis' boxers down in the process and the brunette's erection sprung free for Liam to see in the darkening park.

The younger boy glanced up at Louis, eyes looking so innocent but at the same time, so seductive and sexual, just looking at the boy's face made Louis' cock twitch in excitement and he stifled a moan when he felt the kitten licks along the shaft. The hand that was in Liam's hair began to twirl with the strands lazily, starting to move the boy's head back and forth as Louis rested his head on the back of the tree trunk and closed his eyes. He wouldn't say that he missed this, the blowjobs, from Liam. He missed the affection that Liam gave and felt a little bit guilty that the boy only did it for Louis to want to keep him around. He missed all the little displays of affection, feeling foolish for not wanting it then and when he was about to leave, wanting every single bit of emotion Liam could give him. Things were going to change, three years and they'll be together and Louis will make up for it. Hell, Liam could come out and visit him on spring, summer and winter break if the boy managed to save up money. And if he couldn't, then Louis will come out to visit him. Liam's tongue dragged along a vein, sputtering a bit and Louis began to buck his hips into the wet warmth. But then he slowed, feeling a small tingle in his stomach and gently pushed Liam away. The boy looked at him confused as Louis settled down beside him in the grass, stripping Liam of his shirt and pants and then doing away with the plaid underwear.

Even as the sky was starting to turn into a orange and purple portrait, Louis could see the small blush creeping across the boy's face, hands going down to absently cover himself. Louis scoffed, gently taking Liam's wrists and pulling his hands away, the younger boy's erection in Louis' view. Louis pushed Liam more into the grass, his back resting in the cool greenery and Louis spread Liam's legs apart. Louis was sure he was blushing too, he never thought he would be doing something like this and he didn't want Liam to be nervous. His hands ran up and down Liam's legs, sometimes going down to touch at his bottom and finger swirling around the puckered hole. He hitched a breath and Liam bit his lip.

"I never done this before... " Liam said quietly and Louis nodded dumbly.

"Me neither... how do I... "

"Just... make sure I'm ready," Liam whispered and Louis nodded, raising his hand and sucking on the fingers until they were good and covered in saliva. He pulled them out with a pop, letting the tip of one finger gently push against the entrance and slip past the ring of muscle. Liam's hands immediately grabbed at the grass and he let out a loud gasp, chest heaving and slightly writhing as Louis pumped the digit in and out. He slipped in a second finger, the digits scissoring slowly as Liam's lips gasped and moaned in both pain and pleasure, Louis often hearing his name in a breathy sigh.

Then he heard his name in a loud, pleasured squeal when he inserted three fingers and crooked them at such an angle. Louis was a blushing mess, seeing the way how he was giving the boy beneath him such pleasure. He didn't really know why he was blushing like this, it wasn't the same from him sleeping with a girl, the same thing was going to follow with him grabbing hips and thrusting up inside. But he guessed with Liam, he was always a bit of a fool with him. He removed his fingers, the hands slipping over to grab onto Liam's hips tightly as he loomed over him. Liam's legs automatically hooked around Louis' waist, the boy looking up at him and smiling.

"You're my first, Louis... " Liam said softly and Louis blushed. All the more difficult for him to say that he was going to be leaving after this, the sky growing purple and blue but the moon not in sight. He sucked in a breath, directing the tip of his member and gently sliding into the warmth of the boy and oh, Louis' eyes fluttered at the feeling of Liam squeezing around him and insides hugging his length so intimately. Liam was shuddering and gasping lightly, eyes scrunching closed as they should from the slight pain as Louis was fully in the boy. Liam let out a couple of breaths, eyes fluttering back open to look at Louis and he gave a small nod. "Go on... "

Louis nodded in response, pulling his hips back and just as slowly pushing back inside, Liam's body sliding forward in the grass and back with each soft thrust. Louis' hands were on both sides of Liam's head, the two boys keeping eye contact as Louis felt his mind slipping away. They weren't in the park in Louis' mind, they were in their own little world where no one could hurt them or ridicule them. All that really mattered was the two of them together in the grass, their breaths short and hot and voices lightly gasping and moaning each others name. He felt Liam's arms link around Louis' neck and the thrusts began to grow faster, a rhythmic skin on skin slapping sounding in Louis' ears and Liam's moans growing into whimpers of pleasure. Louis loomed down even more, feeling Liam's erection leaking with pre-cum brushing against his abdomen and let out hot and heavy breaths.

"I l-love you, L-Liam~" Louis panted, the boy below him squeezing amazingly tight with each heavy push of his cock and Liam breathed out a 'Love you too' and moaned Louis' name once more. The grass was wet on the hot skin, Louis gripping and almost pulling out the greenery as he felt his stomach tightening from one hard thrust that made Liam's eyes flutter like beautiful butterflies. He let his lips fall on his, kissing the boy gently and nibbling at his lower lip as he felt the orgasm beginning to rip through his body, lower half shaking before releasing his seed into the younger boy and filling him to the brim. He heard (and felt) Liam gasp against his lips, moaning and Louis felt something warm cover his stomach and his skin growing sticky with something other than sweat. He let his hips give small and lazy thrusts as the high subsided, gently pulling out and falling down beside his lover in the cool grass and look at how the moon was slowly chasing the stars.

The two boys were silent other than the small breaths their lungs were trying to capture, Louis' hand going to intertwine with Liam's. The boy smiled a bit, looking at Louis and blushing a bit.

"So... are you my boyfriend now?"

"Yeah, I'm your boyfriend," Louis said, liking the way the title rolled off his tongue. Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend. For once, Louis felt actually kind of proud. He was gay, absolutely gay. And Liam was his boyfriend, oh this was wonderful. But then he saw a tear slip down Liam's face and Louis frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't have done that... we shouldn't have done this," Liam whispered and Louis felt his heart quiver. Liam... Liam regretted giving his virginity to him? He... he regretted it. Liam then looked Louis straight in the eye, "I'm going to miss you too much now," he choked out and Louis sighed. He pulled the boy into his arms and held him tight, feeling Liam tremble and his chest beginning to grow wet with tears. He couldn't tell Liam to just drop school and run away with him and the others, if anything Louis wanted Liam to be able to graduate and go to a good school. Louis... Louis was going to try his best to see if he could play sports for the rest of his life. Maybe be on the soccer team for the USA or something. Or maybe he will try and go to school once he gets out there to California, he didn't really know. All he knew was that right now, three years were going to be torture without this boy in his arms.

They dressed, Louis walking the boy home hand in hand like Liam always wanted to and once they arrived at the doorstep, the greaser gave him a small goodbye kiss that lingered longer than time could count. Liam's fingers grabbed at his coat jacket as he felt Louis pulling away.

"I'll see you again, right? You're not really leaving me forever, right?" Liam asked and Louis ran a hand through the soft hair.

"Of course you will. I'll write to you too so that way you'll know our new address and when you graduate," Louis nuzzled his nose and smiled, "We'll go to New York and see the city lights."

"Wow... you promise?" Liam asked and Louis nodded.

"With all my heart... I love you, Liam," it felt he couldn't say those words enough to get that sad smile off of the boy's face.

"I love you too, Louis... be safe... "

Louis gave the boy another kiss and hugged him tight, turning and stepping down the porch steps as Liam slipped inside his home. Louis let out a small sigh, feet taking him down to the old bar and joint where the red Thunderbird was parked with Harry loading up the trunk with suitcase after suitcase. The brunette glanced over his shoulder, eyebrow crooking when he saw Louis approach with hands deep in his pockets. Harry closed the trunk gently and crossed his arms.

"You coming?"

"... Yeah."

"No bags?"

"Just the clothes on my back," Louis mumbled and Harry rolled his eyes.

"You can borrow some of my stuff until you get your own clothes in California. Going to be all hippie stuff though," Harry said with a teasing grin that Louis just rolled his eyes at.

"Fine, fine."

"Robert's sleeping, so keep it down when you get inside," Harry said and Louis nodded, going over to the car door and pulling it open. Cara was curled up on the other side of the car, Robert on her lap and nuzzled in his mother's chest as Louis slipped inside and buckled the seatbelt. Harry walked over to the driver's seat, climbing in and smiling at Niall also sleeping in the passenger seat next to him. He placed the key in the ignition and turned it, the car quietly revving up and proceeded to make his way down the street. Louis watched as the lights of the city he grew up in began to fade away, along with everything that he was leaving behind. Goodbye, mother. He only hoped that she wouldn't be heartbroken that he left without telling her. He only hoped that his sisters wouldn't be angry that their brother abandoned them just like their father. He left them a note, but he didn't know if that would be good enough. And then he heaved a heavy sigh, resting his head on the seat and closing his eyes.

Goodbye Liam, it won't be long until Louis had him back in his arms and able to tell the boy 'I love you' without ever seeing that sad smile again.


	17. 1963

Niall had a dream, a dream in which an eight year old Robert was having trouble with his homework and needed his help. The two were sitting together in the small bedroom shared with Harry in the flat where the two men lived, and after the child was able to complete the math problems, he gave Niall a kiss on the cheek and to tell Daddy he loved him when he came back from work. Only thing was, it wasn't a dream, it was something that Niall did every day and he could say he wouldn't dream of doing anything else.

Things have changed.

The year was 1963, the scent of incense burning and he could hear the sounds of music from outside his window as his eyes fluttered from the sun shining through the glass to tell him to wake up and enjoy the day. He yawned, stretching his arms and some of the hands brushing across his medical books and pushing various papers off of their perch and hummed. He swung his feet out of his and Harry's shared bed and shuffled into the kitchen that was over run with finger paint pictures and different scripts scattered all over the table. That was where Harry was, seeing if he got the part for some role. But Robert was probably going to be over here as soon as he came home from school with Cara.

Ugh, Cara.

Niall tried his best not to frown at the woman, she was Robert's mother, the mother of Harry's son and that was all that she was to him. He couldn't help but feel the woman had some sort of disdain for him, for him and his relationship with Harry. Sure, Harry believed when they all came to California seven years ago, the month now in the coolness of March and Niall vaguely remembered it being either the 21st or the 22nd. But he could see how her eyes would twinkle with slight annoyance at how Robert would rather curl up with him on the sofa instead of with his mother, how Robert would go to Niall to ask for help than her, how Robert would kiss his cheek and whisper a 'Love you' before he went with his mother back to their own residence in the Haight-Ashbury.

He just sighed, falling on the couch to think about the homework and studying that needed to be done and also what him, Harry and Louis were going to have for dinner tonight. He smiled when he thought about the Louis, he was probably outside now along with the other college students and engaging in the music and psychedelic drugs. Niall heard a door open, though his eyes remained closed and a smile played over his lips as two soft and small hands went over to cover his eyes.

"Hmm, who's this?" he asked in a light voice and heard a soft giggle. "... Louis?"

"No," he heard Robert's voice say and he smiled a bit.

"Harry?"

"No!"

"... The girl next door?"

"No, Niall! It's me!" Robert shouted loudly with a laugh, removing his hands and gave his usual greeting kiss that Niall smiled at. Robert looked so much like Harry, Niall believing that was what Harry looked like when he was a kid. The son was quiet and shy around others, but loud and excitable in the comfort of Harry and Niall. And he just had that aura of sweetness around him, like anything the boy did could bring a smile to Niall's face and would always bring one to Harry's. The child walked around the couch, plopping down beside the man with book bag in his arms and Niall glanced around at the apartment.

"Where's your mother?"

"Mr. Scott took me here, Mommy's going to pick me up," Robert explained and Niall gave a small 'ah'. He took the bookbag out of the child's hands and examined the papers inside.

"Got Math?"

"Uh-huh. And English too, but Mr. Scott helped me with my reading assignments," Robert said with an accomplished grin and Niall gave a halfhearted nod. He did kind of like Scott, but he knew Harry despised the man, particularly because it always seemed Cara's new boyfriend was trying to take Robert away from him and try to be his new father. He knew Harry was with Niall, and unfortunately, he was just one of those people that he found in California that were the same like at home. He figured he wouldn't be able to always escape from the disgust of people like him, but he was hoping that he wouldn't be able to feel it every time he had to say goodbye to Robert and saw the looks on Scott or Cara's faces.

The door opened again this time, Niall seeing Harry trying to be sly and quietly creep up to the two of them but Robert already was turned around to see his father trying to surprise them. Harry pouted as his son laughed, poking the elder brunette in the stomach and grinning big.

"What'cha doing Daddy?" Robert asked and Harry shrugged, kissing the top of brown curls before giving a soft kiss to Niall's awaiting lips. Robert watched his father as Harry pulled away and sighed.

"Just working like always. Guess what? Daddy's going to be in a show."

"You mean you got the part?" Niall asked and Harry smiled even bigger.

"Looking at 'Martin Senescu' himself," Harry replied and then grinned, leaning forward and wiggling his fingers in front of Robert's face. "Imagine it, me up on stage and wooing the crowds for four nights straight," Harry said with a smile and then glanced over at his son, "Robbie, why don't you get a snack first before you start your homework?"

"Okay, Daddy," Robert replied, hopping off the couch and running into the kitchen to begin rummaging for ingredients to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Harry leaned forward a bit and looked at Niall with a serious expression, "A casting director was there too, he offered me a role on a new show."

Niall's eyes widened, "That's amazing."

"But it requires that we move to Hollywood."

"So?" Niall asked and then Harry's eyes flickered over to Robert and back, Niall starting to place the pieces together. Then that means that it will be just the two of them, with Cara deciding whether or not to let Robert tag along. He figured it would come down to this, knowing that they would eventually break away from the group to go on with their lives. They were all living off of each other, Harry and Louis brought the money with Harry loaning some to Cara to afford her small apartment. Niall was almost done with college and then he'll transfer to medical school and for sure he'll be helping out with bringing in the income. But now... now they were spreading apart. And now, Cara wouldn't have to be forced to choose between coming with Harry and still seeing Robert or Harry taking Robert. Hmph, the only reason Niall would say for the blonde woman to come would only be for the boy in the kitchen. He sighed, resting a chin on his hand.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Don't really know yet, but maybe I can talk her into him staying with us every summer and winter break... I know she's not going to leave this place."

Of course she wouldn't. She had Scott here. Plus, Louis wasn't the only one that was soaking up the counterculture.

"Ta-dah!" Robert shouted, walking back in with three PB&J sandwiches and Harry smiled. He took one, had a large bite and grinned.

"Yum!" Harry exclaimed more than necessary and Robert beamed. Niall took a sandwich too, nibbling on it and giving Robert a weak smile. He wasn't a big fan of the sandwich, but he'd shoot his own foot than to hurt the boy's feelings.

"Really good," Niall said and the boy grinned even harder. He set the plate down on the cluttered coffee table and grabbed his pencil. He began to write on the worksheet, little tongue poked out and staring hard at the problems with deep concentration as Niall continued to nibble on the sandwich and Harry already finished his. He left to take a shower and change, Niall beginning to sift through Robert's other things until pulling out a paper that caught his interest.

It was a family tree worksheet, little squares where you were to put the names of uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters. Only Robert's family tree looked different from the normal one. Instead of Harry's sister's name where it would say 'Aunts and Uncles', it was Louis' name and surprisingly Liam's. Liam never met Robert, he wasn't even sure how the boy knew about the boy they left behind back home. Probably heard it from Louis whenever he watched Robert while Niall and Harry needed to do something. And squeezed right in between Harry and Cara's names was Niall's own name, aptly labeled 'Daddy's Wife' and Niall blushed. Of course, Robert was taught about a household consisting of husband and wife. There was no such thing as husband and husband. He saw how the teacher wrote his name down as a brother, maybe believing (or better yet hoping) that was what Robert meant, but there was no way mistaking it.

Then he looked at the grandparents, Harry's parents in one of the boxes and Niall's parents in the other box instead of Cara's. And that was when his heart fell. He hadn't talked to his parents in years since he ran away. He tried to send a letter out to them when they entered the new decade, to wish them a Happy New Year and to try and explain his reasons for leaving them. For deserting them and beg that they love him because he still loved them. Instead, he just got the letter mailed back to him, a stamp saying that there's no such person. His parents been living in that house for 26 years, they wouldn't just leave. Niall spent a good deal staring at that stamp, before ripping the letter up and Harry holding him tight as he screamed into his chest in pain and frustration. They didn't want him, the damage was too severe and there wasn't anything he could do.

Harry only told him that he'll love Niall when they won't. He'll always love him.

As for the Styles family, they were heading the same route, though they never returned Harry's letters nor replied back. It was only until a younger Robert, aged six, sent a letter crudely written in crayon with a photo of him and a homemade drawing of his grandparents in a giant heart that a reply was sent back. Along with a big package that contained sports gear and knitted sweaters for the boy when it was still as hot as can be in San Francisco. They never came out to visit them, though always exchanging letters with Robert at Christmas time and sending the boy his presents through the mail when his birthday came. Harry just believed that they were being deluded, that they were hoping Robert had a mother that Harry loved and was with instead of Niall, and they weren't going to fly out all the way to just see their illusion smashed. Let them live in a fantasy world, as long as they weren't trying to ignore or influence Robert, he was fine with how everything was.

"Did I get it right?" Robert asked, snapping Niall out of his thoughts and the man glanced over at the boy who was holding out his worksheet to him. Niall took the piece of paper, eyes scanning through the answers while the problems were being worked out in his head. He looked over at Robert, smile coming to his lips.

"All of them are right," Niall replied and Robert grinned, "You're getting better at this."

"Cause you helped me last time," the boy explained and Niall nodded, flipping over the sheet to the new material and pointed at the number. And as he explained how to round and add the two numbers to get the final number, he could hear Harry reciting lines in the bedroom and he smiled a bit. Robert wrote down a number and showed it, "Like that?"

"Yep, you got this down."

"Uh-huh!... Thank you, Niall," the boy said, arms wrapping around Niall's neck and hugging him tight. Niall let out a soft sigh, arms wrapping around and snuggling a bit into the soft brown curls as he hugged the boy tight. He heard a soft 'I love you' from Robert and Niall smiled, whispering back 'I love you more'.

"Aw, a family hug and I wasn't invited?" Niall heard Harry's voice exclaim and Robert let go of him to run over to his father.

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" the boy said, hugging Harry's waist and Harry smiled. He glanced at Niall and tilted his head, "Well come over here, you're part of this family too."

Niall grinned, getting up and walking over to the two and letting himself be pulled into Harry's strong arms and feel Robert wrapping arms around him as well. Niall felt Harry kiss him on the cheek, hearing a whispered 'I love you' in his ear and Niall sighed. Yep, all the love he'll ever need was right here.  
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"Excuse me, do you know where Haight-Ashbury is?"

"Nah, sorry dude. You should go ask 'Lou', think he knows someone that lives there."

"... 'Lou'?"

"Yeah, he's over there in the coffee shop," the guitarist pointed off and the young man just gave a slow nod of slight understanding before heading away from the large crowd of hippies singing and chanting and the cannabis smoke surrounding them all. He strained his eyes, not really sure who he was looking for that was down the street. It was empty, people were lined against the wall just calmly hanging out and talking like there wasn't a care in the world, but he didn't know who he was looking for. All he knew was that he had to get to Haight-Ashbury soon, otherwise he might miss him.

And he already missed the man too many times to do it again.

He scanned the people on the sidewalk and against the colorful walls that had murals of women and colors so vibrant that it looked like they came from a child's imagination, hand gripping tightly on his suitcase bag as he carried it. All he brought with him to California, not really expecting he needed much. He saw how a man exited a shop, waving goodbye to whoever was inside before turning and beginning to walk down the street facing his direction. And that was when the two stopped simultaneously, both of their eyes widening when they saw each other.

"... Louis?" the voice came out frailer than he was expecting and he saw how the boy shook slightly when he heard his name.

"Liam," Louis choked out and that was when Liam felt tears slipping from his eyes with a smile on his face. He dropped his suitcase, the bag snapping open and some clothes falling out, and began to run straight at Louis, his arms held out wide for Liam to jump into his grasp. His legs swung and hooked around Louis' body, his arms around his shoulders and clinging to him like a baby koala clung to its mother almost knocking the shorter boy down. He felt Louis kissing his hair and holding him tight.

"I missed you, I missed you so much," Liam breathed out, nose on Louis' skin and smelling that familiar scent of the boy that he missed for seven years. He wanted to come to California so bad, he wanted to be able to see Louis again. But his parents just couldn't afford tickets to and from the golden state, Liam was only lucky some students from his college were traveling here in a caravan and he was able to tag along. He eased up a bit, sliding down until both of his feet were back on the cement. And once he was on the ground, Louis began to kiss him.

The lips were eager, soft and loving, Louis' tongue prodding into Liam's mouth to twirl around his tongue and savor in the taste of his mouth. Liam was blushing, not expecting a welcome like this and he gently pulled away to look at the boy with a confused expression.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't come to see you graduate, none of us had enough money to drive back out there or fly. But now, I have enough money for us to fly out to New York at the end of the year to see the ball drop. That sounds like fun, right? And I already have enough money for my own place and you're more than welcome to stay with me," Louis breathed and Liam blinked.

"... You kissed me in public," Liam whispered and Louis began to look around too, now noticing that the crowd of people that were lined along the walls were looking at them and Louis scoffed.

"Fuck the public," Louis whispered, pulling the younger man and dipping him low for another kiss. Liam found his fingers beginning to go up into the brunette strands and grip tightly, gasping and moaning into the kiss that was driving his senses wild and making his heart go wild. He felt Louis mumble an 'I love you' against his lips before kissing him once more and Liam just hummed in response. Didn't matter if they were in the cold of their hometown or the warmth in San Francisco, Liam's heart always fluttered when he heard Louis say those three little words.

And he couldn't wait to kiss the boy amongst the crowd of celebrating and shouting people when the ball drops in New York.

The End


End file.
